Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet Pattern, Physical Activity, and Physical Self-Concept in Spanish Older Adults
Metadata
Show full item recordEditorial
MDPI
Materia
Mediterranean diet Physical self-concept Physical activity Older adult
Date
2022-06-09Referencia bibliográfica
Conde-Pipó, J... [et al.]. Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet Pattern, Physical Activity, and Physical Self-Concept in Spanish Older Adults. Nutrients 2022, 14, 2404. [https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14122404]
Sponsorship
Instituto de Salud Carlos III through the CIBEROBN CB12/03/30038; European CommissionAbstract
Background: The aging world population is accelerating rapidly. Physical self-concept
(PSC) is one of the psychosocial factors with the greatest influence on an individual’s well-being
and health. The traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern (MDP) is considered one of the healthiest
dietary models, as it is nutritionally complete and easy to follow. Objective: To assess the adherence
to MDP and its association with the practice of physical activity (PA) and PSC levels in the older adult
Spanish population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a representative sample of
Spanish older adults (n = 342; older than 55 years old). Their PSC was assessed using a previously
validated PSC questionnaire. Adherence to an MDP was assessed using a validated Mediterranean
Diet Adherence Screener questionnaire. Their PA was measured using the Spanish version of the
Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity Questionnaire. Data on age, sex, hypertension, cholesterol or
diabetes suffered in the last 12 months, as well as weight, height, and BMI, were collected. Results:
At the lowest levels of PSC, the percentage of individuals who were non-active and non-adhering to
the MDP was lower compared to the highest levels (75.0% vs. 19.6; p = 0.001; Cramer’s V = 0.414, and
83.3% vs. 57.9%; p = 0.001; Cramer’s V = 0.221, respectively). This sample showed an abandonment
of the most classic habits of the MDP, such as the consumption of olive oil, vegetables, fruits, nuts and
fish. Conclusions: Non-adherence to the MDP and low levels of PA are associated with low levels of
PSC in older adults.