Association of social capital and adherence to a Mediterranean diet in adults living in Tehran: a cross-sectional study
Exploring the influence of social capital on adherence to the Mediterranean diet can help shape interventions to encourage healthier eating habits among Iranian adults. A 168-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used in this cross-sectional study by Norouziasl & Shab-Bidar (2024) to evaluate dietary consumption. The Mediterranean diet score (MDS), which ranges from 0 to 18, was used to measure adherence to the Mediterranean diet. The Social Capital Questionnaire (SCQ) was used to evaluate social capital. Unstandardized coefficients (B) and 95% CIs were calculated using linear regression, controlling for sex, age, marital status, BMI, education, lifestyle, chronic conditions (diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular diseases), and calorie consumption. The study included 270 adults with an average age of 36.76 ± 13.22 years residing in Tehran. Responses to the FFQ were scored on a 4-point Likert scale (from “never” (=1) to “always” (=4)). There were 270 individuals who took part, 118 of whom were men and 152 women. Data analysis showed that social capital and Mediterranean diet adherence were positively correlated. This study found that higher social capital was significantly associated with better adherence to the Mediterranean diet among adults. The authors recommend that future research explore this relationship in larger sample sizes. [NPID: Social capital, Mediterranean diet, MDS score, healthy dietary pattern]
Year: 2024
