Kids snubbing the Med diet at the source
Action being taken after study on island of Oinousses finds a surprisingly high rate of obesity among youngsters
On Oinousses, children don’t eat fish. Despite how contradictory that might sound, it seems many children on this eastern Aegean island turn their noses up at fresh fish – and its excellent Omega-3 content – opting instead for red meat and sweets.
This observation emerges from a study conducted by the Panhellenic Federation of Freelance Pediatricians in one of Greece’s most traditional maritime locations. Specifically, pediatricians visited Oinousses for the second time in a few months recently to measure the children’s body mass index (BMI), record their dietary behaviors in detail and provide written dietary guidelines to their parents. An initial visit had already taken place for a cardiological checkup.
Speaking to Kathimerini, the president of the federation, Kostas Daloukas, notes that out of the approximately 60 children examined during the doctors’ second visit to the island, 23 were found to be overweight or obese, with some suffering from severe obesity.
For this reason, it was decided, in collaboration with the local municipality, to monitor the children on the island for a year to evaluate the results of the intervention and propose both individual and general measures to address the problem. The conclusions drawn from the questionnaires and measurements showed that most of the children had at least one obese parent, which likely influences their habits and weight.
“Besides consuming sweets, red meat and cheese, we found that most children exercise less than the recommended amount and have a high to very high usage of mobile phones. Additionally, increased stress levels were observed in several children, affecting their diet,” Daloukas says.
Based on these results, aside from the instruction and monitoring of pediatricians for a year, the local municipality also plans to take measures. “The issue is more serious than we all thought here on the island, but we can still prevent the damage if we act immediately,” says the mayor of Oinousses, George Daniil.
Specifically, the municipality plans, among other measures, to change the snacks provided at the island’s schools, suggesting healthier options like fruit or nuts. Sailing lessons will be extended throughout the year, not just during the winter months, to ensure children don’t stop their physical activities. Lastly, a separate awareness campaign for parents on the island will be launched through the municipality’s social media to reinforce the message of prevention and the need to adopt a healthy Mediterranean diet.
Eating habits
Hearing that the Mediterranean diet is absent even from the tables of those living at the source of its ingredients, Ioannis Manios, a professor in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics and dean of the School of Health Sciences and Education at Harokopio University in Athens, isn’t particularly surprised.
Explaining that the term “Mediterranean diet” was first used after the research of American physiologist Ancel Keys, who studied eating habits in seven countries including Greece (on the islands of Crete and Corfu), Spain and Italy, Manios notes that at that time, Cretans ate a lot of wild greens, plenty of grains, fruit, vegetables, moderate amounts of dairy and little meat. In reality, Spaniards had the highest fish consumption, which is why fish was included in the Mediterranean diet model.
“A large part of the population still believes we follow the Mediterranean diet model. However, the reality is that for the past 30 years, Greece has been deviating more and more from this dietary pattern, while many Central and Northern European countries are adopting it. A characteristic example is Finland, which had the worst dietary and health indicators 20 years ago but has made tremendous progress today,” he says.
The fact that Greece has forgotten the dietary habits it once epitomized is evident from recent surveys that place the country at the top regarding high rates of childhood obesity.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2023, approximately 31% of children aged 6-9 in Greece were overweight or obese, one of the highest rates in the EU. A similar WHO survey for 2021/2022 shows that obesity rates are also high in the 13-year-old age group in our country. Additionally, according to the World Obesity Federation, Greece ranks among the top 10 countries with high rates of overweight and obese children.
Sedentary lifestyle
When asked why childhood obesity remains a serious public health issue in Greece, Manios believes many factors are at play.
As he mentions, the mere fact that from 2021 to 2023, 36% of children aged 7-9 in Europe increased their screen time while 28% reduced their outdoor activities, contributing to the rise in obesity rates, gives a general picture of what is happening.
“We are among the nations with the most sedentary lifestyles, while at the same time, we haven’t incorporated active mobility into our daily lives. If children are at home with their grandparents instead of being in full-day school, if schoolyards are locked on weekends preventing them from playing, and if the streets remain dangerous and dirty, hindering families from walking in their neighborhoods, then how can we not talk about childhood obesity? These are issues that other countries have long resolved,” he says.
Manios doesn’t tire of reiterating the crucial role of parents in reducing childhood obesity in Greece. He notes that the high obesity rates in many rural and island areas are not only related to parents’ economic background but also to their education level.
For him, the dietary model parents follow, the way they use food as a reward for their children and their awareness, or lack thereof, regarding their child’s weight exceeding the normal range are the main reasons that can lead a child towards or away from obesity.
