Daily Mail Health — Experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) found that today youngsters in Sweden were much more likely to be following the Mediterranean diet than their counterparts in Italy or Greece.
Dr Joao Breda, who is the head of the European office for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases at WHO, said: ‘The Mediterranean diet for children in these countries is all but gone.
‘In southern Europe, kids are really far from that – and those closer to the Med diet were Swedish kids.’ He blamed inactivity and junk food for fuelling obesity in southern Europe, saying children were snacking more and doing little exercise.
There is growing evidence that a Mediterranean diet – one that is high in fresh vegetables, fruit, whole grains, olive oil and fish – can help to ward off heart problems and also lower the risk of cancer.
More recent studies have also found that it could also cut the chance of dementia and may also protect against age-related macular degeneration, which causes blurred vision.
