Mediterranean diet adherence and subjective well-being in a sample of Portuguese adults
Well-being, a broad term that includes a person’s subjective evaluation of their own well-being (SWB), has been associated with the Mediterranean diet (MD) and several lifestyle variables. Some research suggests that diet may affect SWB. This study by Andrade et al. (2020) aimed to provide new insights into the relationship between MD adherence and SWB among Portuguese adults. Data on sociodemographic, economic, lifestyle, dietary habits, and SWB were gathered via a self-administered online questionnaire. At the same time, the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) score was used to measure MD adherence. Results indicated that the 490 Portuguese adults exhibited moderate adherence to the MD, with a mean MEDAS score of 7.4 ± 2.1. Higher adherence to the MD was significantly associated with being female, employed, consuming more meals daily, and having regular contact with nature. A novel aspect of this study was categorizing participants into low, medium, and medium to high SWB profiles (3.9 ± 1.0; 6.2 ± 1.0; 8.2 ± 1.3, respectively), which showed a significant increase in MEDAS scores (6.5 ± 2.1; 7.3 ± 2.1; 7.8 ± 1.9; respectively). [NPID: MEDAS score, Mediterranean diet, Portuguese adults, life satisfaction, subjective well-being]
Year: 2020
