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Dear Colleagues and Friends,
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In this week’s newsletter we bring to your attention a systematic review on technology-based interventions focusing on the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet). In the current global context, technologies are now offering a more practical and widely available platform for anyone with access to the internet in order to tackle the overweight and obesity pandemic. Many, however, are questioning the effectiveness of technology-based methods, emphasizing that the quality of an intervention is the most critical aspect of any clinical trial. In a final sample of 15 articles, from 11 countries, spanning between 2005 and 2020, this review found substantial evidence that technology-based interventions based on solid theoretical frameworks are successful in promoting adherence to the MedDiet. These studies report significant changes in body weight and composition, as well as changes in cardiovascular biomarkers such as total and HDL cholesterol. Furthermore, the authors identified several determinants that increase the efficacy of these technology-based interventions; these factors can be found here.
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The United Nations, backed by the World Health Organization, has designated the next decade (2021-2030) as the decade for healthy ageing. Both organizations highlight the importance of lifestyles in promoting health throughout the life-course, but particularly among the elderly. Diet in particular, plays an important role for both physical and mental health. As evidenced in this report, a longitudinal association study found that a Mediterranean-Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (MIND) score was inversely associated with physical function impairment and directly associated with muscle strength; both critical factors that define healthy ageing. Additionally, yearly biological diversity of the diet was found to be inversely associated with mortality. These were the findings of a study in the EPIC cohort, which concluded that in a Pan-European cohort, mortality rate and disease specific mortality (death by cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and digestive disease) were inversely associated with the richness of a dietary pattern.
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Going forward we must take advantage of new technologies, as they are proving their reliability in guiding patients to more healthful lifestyles with a particular focus on diet, which has undeniable benefits on health throughout the life-course.
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