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Dietary Patterns (Poster Session)

(P22-048-24) A 4-point Modified Mediterranean Diet Shows Need for Improvement in a Lifespan Sample of American Adults

Monday, July 1, 2024
12:45 PM - 1:45 PM CT
Location: Poster Board 323
Disclosure(s):
Kelly Parker, PhD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: The Mediterranean Diet (MD) may reduce the risk of chronic disease and slow cognitive decline. The MD is characterized by a high intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, moderate fish and lean protein intake, and low intake of added sugars, such as sugar-sweetened beverages. This study examined whether a 4-point MD scale could be utilized to highlight foods that are frequently over or under-consumed in American diets.

Methods: Participants (N=218) reported whether they consumed the following most days of the previous week: 3+ servings of fruits, 2+ servings of vegetables, any fish, and whether they consumed any sugar sweetened beverages. The items were coded as 0 for a response outside recommendations or 1 for a response that was in line with recommendations. Participants then completed a one-week daily diary study. Each evening, they reported whether they had consumed: any fish, 2+ servings of vegetables, 3+ servings of fruit, and any sugar-sweetened beverages. Descriptive statistics were generated for the baseline and daily surveys. Intra-class correlations (ICC) were generated to identify how much variability in daily MD scores was due individual (between-person) differences as compared to day-to-day (within-person) fluctuations.

Results: An ICC of .49 indicated that approximately half of the variance in daily MD scores was due to daily within-person fluctuations, and the other half was due to between-person differences. This indicates a high degree of variability in MD adherence on a daily basis. Baseline MD score was 2.19(0.98). Daily scores were somewhat lower, ranging from 1.75-2.06 on a daily basis with an average daily score of 1.95(0.76). Bivariate correlations provide evidence for reliability and showed that average daily scores and baseline scores were highly correlated (r=0.67, p < 0.01).

Conclusions: The Modified MD shows promise as a new, reliable and valid measure of dietary patterns. Future studies should examine the health implications of such dietary variability.

Funding Sources: National Institutes of Health; National Institutes of Aging