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Promoting and Implementing the Mediterranean Diet in the Southern Hemisphere: the Chilean Experience

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 72, pages 38–46 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Increasing scientific evidence shows that the Mediterranean lifestyle -including a characteristic dietary pattern as well as psychosocial and cultural features- has beneficial effects on human health. However, production and use of some of the distinctive components (e.g., olive oil, red wine, nuts, legumes, fish and seafood) of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) are not exclusively confined to the Mediterranean Basin, but are also found in other world regions, including California, Southwestern Australia, South Africa, and Chile. Central Chile exhibits a Mediterranean climate and Chilean agriculture and culinary traditions show striking similarities to Mediterranean countries. Using a MedDiet index adapted to food habits in Chile, we found that only 10% of the adult population displays this healthy eating behavior. Furthermore, high scores in the MedDiet index correlate with lower prevalence of overweight, obesity, and metabolic syndrome in Chilean adults. High adherence to a Mediterranean-like diet is also associated with better psychological wellbeing. Finally, a pilot study investigating the effects of a Mediterranean diet in Chile -as part of a ‘food-at-work intervention’- showed a significant improvement in diet quality which was associated with a 35% reduction in the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome. Increased appreciation and application of a Mediterranean-like dietary pattern may therefore improve health and quality of life in the population of Chile, where non-communicable chronic diseases are increasingly common.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the leading role of the late Dr. Federico Leighton in both promoting and studying the application of the Mediterranean diet in Chile.

Funding

Research reported by our group in this article was supported by grants from Fundación Alimenta and Fundación Banmédica (Chile). This article is published as part of a supplement sponsored by the Mediterranean Diet Foundation and the Diputació de Barcelona.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Nutrición Molecular y Enfermedades Crónicas, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica, Santiago, Chile

    Guadalupe Echeverría, Catalina Dussaillant, Emma E. McGee, Catalina Mena, María Pía Nitsche, Inés Urquiaga, Marcela Bitran, Nuria Pedrals & Attilio Rigotti

  2. Centro de Educación Médica, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica, Santiago, Chile

    Marcela Bitran

  3. Departmento de Nutrición, Diabetes y Metabolismo, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica, Santiago, Chile

    Guadalupe Echeverría, Nuria Pedrals & Attilio Rigotti

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  1. Guadalupe Echeverría
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Echeverría, G., Dussaillant, C., McGee, E.E. et al. Promoting and Implementing the Mediterranean Diet in the Southern Hemisphere: the Chilean Experience. Eur J Clin Nutr 72 (Suppl 1), 38–46 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0307-7

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