Design and development of an instrument to measure overall lifestyle habits for epidemiological research: the Mediterranean Lifestyle (MEDLIFE) index

In this study by Sotos-Prieto et al. (2015), the authors undertook the development of a questionnaire tool, The Mediterranean Lifestyle (MEDLIFE) index, which is composed of 28 items designed to measure conformity to a Mediterranean lifestyle in terms of nutrition (15 items), dietary habits (seven items), physical activity, and social patterns (six items). The questionnaire was administered to a sample of participants from the Aragon Workers’ Health Study cohort (n = 988), showing a substantial degree of fidelity and positive relationships with other indices, namely, the Alternate Healthy Eating Index, the Alternate Mediterranean Diet Index, and the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener. The authors comment that MEDLIFE is a novel and efficient index tool that performs a holistic assessment of lifestyle patterns, and is useful in epidemiological studies. [NPID: Lifestyle, Mediterranean diet, physical activity]

Year: 2015

Reference: Sotos-Prieto, M., Moreno-Franco, B., Ordovás, J. M., León, M., Casasnovas, J. A., & Peñalvo, J. L. (2015). Design and development of an instrument to measure overall lifestyle habits for epidemiological research: the Mediterranean Lifestyle (MEDLIFE) index. Public health nutrition, 18(6), 959–967. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980014001360

Related Studies

Foods contributing to energy intake in the US: Data from NHANES III and NHANES 1999–2000

Current observations demonstrate that the efforts made towards halting the trends in obesity would be more efficient when coupled with information on responsible nutritional habits. In this analysis by Block (2004), the author attempted to outline the nutritional items comprising most of the population’s total energy intake, using data from two surveys: the Third National […]

Ultra-processed foods drive to unhealthy diets: Evidence from Chile

In this study by Cediel et al. (2020), the authors investigated the impact of consuming ultra-processed foods on the Chilean diet’s nutrient content in relation to non-communicable diseases (NCD). They also assessed the level of contribution of ultra-processed foods on the unhealthy dietary nutrient content in general. Through analysing dietary data extrapolated from a national […]