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Is the Mediterranean Diet Associated with Healthy Habits and Physical Fitness? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Including 564,310 Youths
36 Pages Posted: 21 Jul 2020
More...Abstract
Background: The relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD), physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour and physical fitness levels has been analysed in several studies; however, there is mixed evidence among youth. The aim of this study was to meta-analyse the associations between MD and PA, sedentary behaviour, and physical fitness among children and adolescents.
Methods: Three databases were systematically searched, including cross-sectional and prospective designs with a sample of healthy youth aged 3–18 years. Random effects models were used to estimate the pooled effect size (correlation coefficient [r]).
Findings: Thirty-nine studies were included in the meta-analysis, yielding a total of 564,310 youths (mean age, 12·4 years). Overall, the MD had a small-to-moderate positive relationship with PA (r = 0·14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0·11 to 0·16), cardiorespiratory fitness (r = 0·21; 95% CI, 0·17 to 0·25) and muscular fitness (r = 0·10; 95% CI, 0·07 to 0·14), and a small-to-moderate negative relationship with sedentary behaviour (r = –0·15; 95% CI, –0·20 to –0·11) and motor ability (r = –0·06; 95% CI, –0·09 to –0·03). There was a high level of heterogeneity in all of the models (I 2 ≥ 75%). The overall results remained significant after controlling for sex and age (children or adolescents).
Interpretation: Strategies aiming at improving dietary habits toward those of the MD could be crucial as a means to promote physical fitness and PA in youth, to the detriment of sedentary activity, and safeguard their health in general.
Funding Statement: AGH is a Miguel Servet Fellow (Instituto de Salud Carlos III – CP18/0150). RR-V is funded in part by a Postdoctoral Fellowship Resolution ID 420/2019 of the Universidad Pública de Navarra.
Declaration of Interests: We declare no competing interests.
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