Ann Nutr Food Sci | Volume 4, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access
Hulya Demir*, Aslihan Soyal
Nutrition and Dietetic Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, Yeditepe University, Turkey
*Correspondance to: Hulya Demir
Fulltext PDFThis study aims to determine the adaptation level of the individuals living in The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to the Mediterranean diet and revealing the factors affecting the adaptation to the diet. Mediterranean diet is a dietary habit observed in Southern Italy, some regions in Greece and the Mediterranean islands where olive is planted traditional Mediterranean basin diets contain fresh and natural food, vegetable, fruit, grains, bread, fish, olive oil, nuts such as walnut, peanut, hazelnut, wine in moderate dose, low level of milk and meat products, and poultry animals. For this purpose, 422 participants between 18 to 65 years of age living in the TRNC were surveyed. The data collection tool contains General Information Form, Nutritional Habits Form, Food Consumption Frequency Form, and Mediterranean Diet Quality Index Form. 54% were women. 51.2% of the sample is average weight, 38.4% is overweight, and 10.4% is obese. In the evaluation of Mediterranean diet quality, 57.1% of the participants were found to have an optimal diet, 31.3% of the participants had required intervention in their diet, and 11.6% of the participants had a very low-quality index. The quality of the Mediterranean diet differentiates on gender, age, body mass index (p<0.05). The average of normal weighted participants is significantly higher than overweighed and obese participants. The quality of the Mediterranean diet differentiates by the change occurred in the body within the last 6 months, cohabitants and vitamin-mineral tablet usage within the last 12 months (p<0.05). When the findings of the study are evaluated in general, there is evidence that individuals living in the Turkish Republic of Northern adhere to the Mediterranean diet.
Food variety; Mediterranean diet; Diet quality
Hulya Demir, Aslihan Soyal . Determination of Adaptation to the Mediterranean Diet of Individuals Living in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Ann Nutr Food Sci. 2020; 4(1): 1042.