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Livescience_2014 04065.txt

#Mediterranean Diet May be Beneficial for Kids'Weight Children who follow the so-called Mediterranean diet may be less likely to be overweight or obese than kids who do not adhere to this diet a new study suggests. In the study researchers looked at children ages 2 to 9 in eight European countries and found that those who were on a Mediterranean diet were 15 percent less likely to be overweight or obese than those who didn't. The link held regardless of where the kids lived the researchers said. Interestingly the children who were most likely to follow the diet closely with a high intake of vegetables fruit nuts fish and cereal grains were those in Sweden and the least likely were the children in Cyprus an island in the Mediterranean. The fact that the Swedish children scored the highest while the children from Cyprus turned out to have the lowest adherence to a Mediterranean diet was actually a bit surprising study author Gianluca Tognon at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden told Live Science. 10 Ways to Promote Kids'Healthy Eating Habits The researchers used data from a large study of the health effects of children's diets that was conducted between September 2006 and February 2012. The goal of the study was to assess the problem of obesity in European children. The investigators focused on the measurements of weight height waist circumference and body fat percentage in about 9000 children in Sweden Germany Spain Italy Cyprus Belgium Estonia and Hungary. Previous research among adults has found an association between those who follow the Mediterranean diet and a decreased risk of heart attack stroke and death from heart disease. We wanted to know more about if children adhere to a Mediterranean-like diet and if this pattern could protect them from obesity Tognon said. The mechanism that may link the Mediterranean diet with a lower risk of being overweight or obese is not completely clear he said. However the high fiber content of the foods typically found in the Mediterranean diet may be helpful in lowering the risk of being obese and overweight he said. Tognon recommended that besides getting their kids to eat fruits and vegetables parents should encourage a higher consumption of nuts legumes fish and whole-grain cereals which are also not so popular among children. The results also showed that among the children in the study those in Italy had the lowest intake of vegetables. But Tognon who is said Italian this did not surprise him because when he was working in Italy he had seen already data that pointed to similar tendencies. We have constantly been told that our food and diet in Italy are both tasty and healthy but I think that it is time for a wake-up call for both the population and the health authorities in south Europe before this kind of dietary pattern will stop being called'Mediterranean'he said. Tognon presented the findings in May at the European Congress on Obesity meeting in Sofia Bulgaria. Follow Agata Blaszczak-Boxe on Twitter. Follow Live Science@livescience Facebook & Google+.+Originally published on Live Science i

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