LONDON, Aug 19 ― With a balanced diet, physical activity, fulfilling social relationships and, of course, the art of the siesta, the Mediterranean lifestyle seems to check all the boxes for a good quality of life. But it could also be good for health, according to a new study which, for the first time, examined the potential benefits of this kind of lifestyle in participants who do not live in the Mediterranean region.

Countless scientific studies have examined the virtues of the Mediterranean diet, which is characterised by a healthy, balanced eating pattern, rich in fruit and vegetables, and complemented by whole gains, vegetable oils and fatty fish, to the detriment of meat, fatty foods and salt. A team of researchers from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health decided to extend their research to the Mediterranean lifestyle as a whole. Interestingly, and for the first time, the scientists analysed the lifestyle habits and data of people who do not live in the Mediterranean region.

The study included 110,799 participants aged between 40 and 75 from the UK Biobank cohort in England, Wales and Scotland ― countries located far from the Mediterranean. The researchers used the Mediterranean Lifestyle Index (MEDLIFE) to determine the participants' habits in terms of specific criteria: consumption of foods from the Mediterranean diet, adherence to Mediterranean lifestyle practices around meals, physical activity, social habits and rest time. All of which resulted in a score indicating ― or not ― their adherence to such a lifestyle. These data were coupled with those obtained from the participants' health follow-up, nine years after the start of the research.

Lower risk of all-cause and cancer mortality

Published in the medical journal, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, the study reveals that adopting a Mediterranean lifestyle ― based on a healthy, balanced diet with more fruit, vegetables and cereals, and fewer added salts and sugars, as well as habits favouring rest, physical activity and meaningful social relationships ― was associated with a lower risk of mortality. In detail, participants who embraced this lifestyle had a 29 per cent lower risk of all-cause mortality and a 28 per cent lower risk of cancer mortality than those who did not. Every aspect of this lifestyle was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, but the researchers point out that the category 'physical activity, rest, and social habits and conviviality' was associated with the greatest benefits.

"This study suggests that it’s possible for non-Mediterranean populations to adopt the Mediterranean diet using locally available products and to adopt the overall Mediterranean lifestyle within their own cultural contexts,” said lead author, Mercedes Sotos Prieto, in a statement. This is the first research to demonstrate the benefits of this lifestyle on life expectancy outside the region concerned.

However, a wealth of research has already highlighted the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Among the most recent, two studies reported that it may be beneficial in preventing the risk of dementia and cardiovascular disease, and that it can limit the effects of passive smoking. As for the Mediterranean lifestyle as a whole, a recent study by researchers at University College London (UCL) and the Universidad de la Republica de Montevideo in Uruguay found that short daytime naps could be beneficial to brain health. ― ETX Studio