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Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet among primary school children in the Tagus Lezíria region, Portugal: a study on eating habits

2025-09Journal article Open access
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authorProfile.affiliationInstituto Politécnico de Santarém_Escola Superior Agráriapt
dc.contributor.authorAndrade, Vanda
dc.contributor.authorFerrão, I.
dc.contributor.authorFigueiredo, M.
dc.contributor.authorDias, Igor
dc.contributor.authorPinto, Paula
dc.contributor.authorRuivo, Paula
dc.date.accessioned2025-10-16T10:00:27Z
dc.date.available2025-10-16T10:00:27Z
dc.date.issued2025-09
dc.description.abstractPoor dietary habits remain a significant public health concern, highlighting the need to promote healthy and sustainable eating patterns, especially in childhood and adolescence. This study assessed the eating habits of primary school children in the Tagus Lezíria region, focusing on adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD), recognized for its health and environmental benefits. Methods: The KIDMED index (Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for children and adolescents) was applied to 435 children, the vast majority (97.7%) aged 6–10 years. Results: The data showed that 64.6% of participants exhibited high adherence to the MD, 32.0% medium, and 3.5% low adherence. Despite these encouraging levels, several gaps were identified: 80% of the children did not meet the recommendation for regular nut consumption (≥2–3 times/week), 44% consumed legumes less than once a week, and 43% failed to eat vegetables more than once a day. Regarding demographic factors, no significant differences were observed in overall adherence categories; however, differences emerged in specific eating behaviours. For example, girls consumed more vegetables and cereals than boys, and children in rural areas consumed less dairy than those living in urban settings. Conclusions: These findings emphasize the importance of reinforcing targeted school-based educational interventions to promote healthier dietary behaviours, particularly increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, fish, pulses, and nuts. Strengthening children’s adherence to the MD from an early age may contribute to improving their health and fostering sustainable eating practices.eng
dc.description.sponsorshipAssociação para a Promoção do Desenvolvimento Rural do Ribatejo (APRODER) FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., within the scope of the projects CIEQV-Life Quality Research Centre ERNAS—Research Centre for Natural Resources, Environment, and Society,
dc.identifier.citationAndrade, V.L.; Ferrão, I.; Figueiredo, M.; Dias, I.; Pinto, P.; Ruivo, P. (2025). Adherence to the Mediterranean diet among primary school children in the Tagus Lezíria Region, Portugal: a study on eating habits. Nutrients, 17 (17), 2853. https://doi.org/10.3390/ nu17172853
dc.identifier.doi https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17172853
dc.identifier.eissn2072-6643
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.15/5883
dc.language.isoeng
dc.peerreviewedyes
dc.publisherMPDI
dc.relationproject Alimentação Sustentável.LT (PDR2020-20.5.4-FEADER-086302)
dc.relationCIEQV-Life Quality Research Centre, Ref.ª UID/04748/2023
dc.relationCERNAS—Research Centre for Natural Resources, Environment, and Society, Ref.ª UID/00681/2023
dc.relation.hasversionhttps://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/17/17/2853
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectMediterranean diet
dc.subjectKIDMED index
dc.subjectTagus Lezíria
dc.subjectdemographic factors
dc.subjectchildren
dc.titleAdherence to the Mediterranean Diet among primary school children in the Tagus Lezíria region, Portugal: a study on eating habitseng
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.issue17
oaire.citation.startPage2853
oaire.citation.titleNutrients
oaire.citation.volume17
oaire.versionhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85

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