The Mediterranean dietary pattern is one of
the healthiest dietary patterns. Despite Malta’s central
location in the Mediterranean Sea, the Maltese dietary
habits may have become more Westernised. The aims of
this cross-sectional pilot study are to assess adherence to
the Mediterranean diet in students at the University of
Malta and investigate the feasibility of such a study and
pilot the measurement tool. A structured interview was
conducted with n=50 students who were conveniently
recruited outside the University premises. The interview
addressed lifestyle information and questions on the
participants’ consumption of food items typical of a
Mediterranean dietary pattern using a literature-based
score. A photographic food atlas was used to aid the
quantification of food portion sizes. A maximum of 18
points score indicating adherence was generated for
each participant. The majority of students were female,
Maltese, aged between 18–20 years old and within the
normal BMI range. Students were unlikely to consume
alcohol or smoke. The majority had a low-moderate
intake of fruits, vegetables and legumes, low intake of fish
and high intake of meat. The mean (95% CI) adherence
score to the Mediterranean dietary pattern was 8.8 (8.1,
9.5) out of 18, classifying 72% of the students as medium
adherers. No significant associations were found between
overall adherence and all study parameters (p-value =
0.05). This study was the first to investigate the adherence
to the Mediterranean dietary pattern in a sample of the
Maltese population. A larger sample size is required to highlight associations between adherence levels and
lifestyle factors.peer-reviewe
