Mediterranean diet and nutritional habits of Greek preschoolers

Abstract

Children’s diet, especially during preschool ages when healthy diet habits are being built depends a lot on parental as well as local community dietary habits. The purpose of this study was to examine the dietary habits of preschool children and the commitment to Mediterranean diet according to their mothers’ perceptions. The sample consisted of 302 preschool age children (153 boys, 149 girls, 3-5 years old). Height, weight were measured and Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated for all children. Dietary intake based on mothers’ perceptions was evaluated with Food Frequency Questionnaire, whereas adoption of Mediterranean diet was assessed using KIDMED questionnaire (Mediterranean Diet Quality Index). Results showed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity were 9.6% and 1.7% respectively, with the obese children replacing meals with fast food. Children’s diet was characterized by high intake of fruits, cereals and white bread, dairy, poultry and fish and low intake of vegetables, sweets, crisps and processed meats. In conclusion, 54.5% of children seemed to adopt Mediterranean diet with increased frequency of consumption of breakfast meals that leads to better quality food. A significant association of maternal BMI with the BMI of children showed that the dietary habits of mothers 'pass' to children, whereas factors shown to significantly affect food choices were the income of parents and the age of children.