By Sarah-Kate Templeton, Health Editor
http://www.sundayherald.com/37053

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The Mediterranean diet of oily fish, abundant fruit and vegetables and red wine is widely accepted as the key to a long and healthy life. But as Scots are encouraged to adopt the southern European style of eating, the Spanish, Greeks and Cypriots are abandoning their grilled squid, salad and olives for hamburgers and chips.
The traditional diet is disappearing from Mediterranean nations, health experts will tell the Ninth European Nutrition Conference in Rome this week. The decline of the traditional four-hour lunch break, which allowed families to enjoy a leisurely home-cooked meal together, has resulted in an explosion of fast food. This, experts have found, has made Mediterranean teenagers the fattest in Europe.

A major study of the obesity epidemic in European adolescents, called the Avena Multicentre Survey, shows that Cyprus, Greece and Spain are at the top of the fat teenager league table. In Cyprus, 23% of teenagers are either overweight or obese, while in Greece the figure is 22%. Spain and the UK are in joint third place, both with 21% of teenagers overweight or obese, followed by Croatia at 20%.

The study, led by Professor Luis Moreno of Zaragoza University in Spain, also shows that the percentage of overweight Spanish boys aged 13 to 14 jumped from 13% in 1985 to 35% in 2002. The proportion of overweight Spanish girls of the same age doubled from 16% to 32% over the same period.

Moreno said: “The obesity problem is greater in Mediterranean countries than the rest of Europe. We have asked the European Union to set up a project analysing why Mediterranean countries have a higher prevalence of obesity than northern European countries.

“This has certainly been caused by an increase in the consumption of energy-dense foods, prepared meals, fast foods and also an increase in sedentary activities, like using the internet, watching TV and playing video games.

“The Mediterranean diet is disappearing due to families’ lack of time to buy and prepare traditional foods that, frequently, are also more expensive.”

Another team of researchers, led by Professor Salvador Zamora, from the University of Murcia, also in Spain, specifically studied whether the Mediterranean diet is disappearing.

They concluded that the renowned lifestyle is under threat from the fast-food culture and advised that the Spanish government immediately launch a healthy eating strategy.

Fatima Perez de Heredia, one of the researchers in Zamora’s team, said: “We compared eating patterns across Spain. What we wanted to see was whether the traditional Mediterranean diet was being maintained. Our results show that, while we should not be alarmed, eating fast foods is getting more and more common. Fast foods are influencing the Spanish diet.

“We have observed an increase in the consumption of cakes, sausages, pizzas and hamburgers.

“We believe we should be designing strategies targeted at educating children and families. It is very important to take care of the family environment, because that is where children learn to eat. The government should run an advertising campaign in schools.”

Working hours in Spain and Italy have traditionally been from around 8.30am to 12.30pm and then 4pm until 8pm, but now there is growing pressure on employees to take a shorter break in the middle of the day, particularly from multinational companies, giving them less time for a sit-down meal.

Perez de Heredia added: “We are overwhelmed by advertisements. All meals are made easier and more appealing.

“In comparison, fruit and vegetables appear less appealing. Fast food has also become more fashionable. Adverts also tell us that we can eat anywhere at any time, so people do not make time to sit down and eat a proper meal.”