Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Fast Food Pounds Mediterranean

Mediterranean diet dumped for fast food and growing girths

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 24, 2008 5:52 AM CDT

(Newser) – The much-vaunted Mediterranean diet is falling out of favor fast around the Mediterranean —and obesity rates are rocketing, the New York Times reports. Greek men are now the fattest people in Europe by far as the traditional diet high in vegetables and fish but low in meat is replaced by pizza and burgers in even the smallest towns.

Health officials worried about plunging life expectancies are striving to promote the benefits of the traditional diet. But they're battling an aggressive marketing of convenience foods—as well as cultures with a history of hunger now happy to indulge chubby children. "You don’t want your child complaining or feeling left out, so you give him what he wants," said one Cretan woman as her stocky son finished an ice cream cone.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

Health officials in Mediterranean countries blame the rise of fast food for people turning away from traditional diets. (KRT Photos)

The "Definitive Guide to Greek Cuisine." ((c) alexik)

The Mediterranean diet, promoted worldwide for its health benefits, is falling out of favor in Mediterranean countries. (Getty Images)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

This is a place where you’d see people who lived to 100, where people were all fit and trim. Now you see kids whose longevity is less than their parents.
- Dr. Michael Stagourakis, a pediatrician in western Crete

We’ve entered an era of convenience. Even in this rural village, the diet is very different than it used to be. - Eleni Klouvidaki, who lives in a mountain village on Crete

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

First Lady: Let's Eliminate Childhood Obesity

Michelle Obama talks to GMA in advance of launching initiative

(NEWSER) - Michelle Obama wants to eliminate childhood obesity in just one generation, and she will launch her ambitious "Let's Move" campaign today at noon. "We want our kids to face a different and more optimistic future in terms of their lifespan," the first lady tells Good Morning America . Obama's initiative focuses on four areas: educating parents, improving food in schools, making healthy foods more affordable, and focusing on physical education. More»

FTC Subpoenas Food Giants on Marketing to Kids

Congress wants data on childhood obesity

(NEWSER) - The FTC dealt out 44 subpoenas yesterday to food companies, including McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and Kraft, seeking information on how much they spent on advertising to kids. The businesses have until November 1 to comply for a report the FTC is preparing for Congress on marketing practices and child obesity. More»

Diet Foods May Help Make Kids Fat

Low-calorie imitations confuse system, cause overeating

(NEWSER) - Feeding children diet food may actually help make them fat, the BBC reports. Young rats who had been given low-calorie versions of ordinarily high-calorie food begin to gain weight when they were switched to regular fare, a new study found. Rather than stop eating when they reached a certain calorie level, they continued to consume at the same level they had on the low-cal version. More»

Kids Who Hate Mom Twice as Likely to Become Obese

Toddlers with poor relationships with mom may suffer in terms of health

(NEWSER) - Most parents have gotten an "I hate you!" tossed their way. But if your toddler really seems to mean it, Mom, you may want to figure out how to improve the relationship. A study set to be published next month found that toddlers who were ranked as having the worst emotional relationship with their moms were more than twice as likely to be obese at age 15 than those with a good relationship, reports the Daily Mail . More»

Ohio Boy, 8, Taken From Mom Because He's Obese

Third-grader weighs more than 200 pounds

(NEWSER) - Last month, an 8-year-old Ohio boy was removed from his family home and placed in foster care—not because of physical abuse, but because the third-grader weighed more than 200 pounds. County case workers argued that the boy’s mother was engaging in medical neglect by not getting his weight under control, and say his weight puts him in danger of developing serious health conditions. But some say the whole thing smacks of hypocrisy, particularly when the same government that removed the boy also deemed pizza a vegetable for the purposes of school lunches. It’s “a schizophrenic stance,” one medical ethics professor tells the Cleveland Plain Dealer . More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Fast Food Pounds Mediterranean