Geography of Food: The Mediterranean Diet Disappears
Friday September 26, 2008
The Mediterranean diet, one of the healthiest cultures of food in the world, is disappearing as unhealthy Western food has been entering the menu. The obesity rate of those who live in the Mediterranean region is increasing as red meat, burgers, high-sugar foods, and other fast foods are entering the diet. The New York Times has the story.
Comments
Greece is one of the specific Mediterranean countries associated with the healthy Mediterranean diet. The World Health Organization recently designated Greece the heaviest of EU countries: 75% of adults are overweight. The reason? They have abandoned the TRADITIONAL Mediterranean diet in favor of a modern Western diet.
-Steve Parker, M.D.
I don’t know if it’s still true, but back about 2000 the “Economist” magazine said that Greece had the highest rate of smokers in Europe (although Vietnam had the highest rate of smokers in the world).
is there any place to find a standard explanation of food geography; a map of the common foods consumed in different areas of the world?