Why The “Mediterranean Diet” Isn’t Working In The Mediterranean

High in veggies, fish-based Omega 3’s and good fats, the so-called ‘Mediterranean Diet’ is often held up as the holy grail of healthy eating—so why are Mediterranean residents getting bigger?

Some say they can thank the U.S. for it. The American diet—or “industrial global diet,” if you prefer—has permeated Italian, Spanish and Greek societies, where obesity and obesity-related problems are rising, especially among younger generations, NPR reports. The Italian Ministry of Health says obesity in Italy is reaching ‘epidemic proportions.’

But food historian Zachary Nowak tells NPR its more than just chicken McNuggets and Pepsi that have caused the great-grandchildren of the original Mediterranean diet subjects to pack on the pounds—the original Mediterranean diet was one of poverty, not of choice:

These aren’t people in Crete in 1948 saying, ‘Oh, yeah, I love this diet. It keeps me very healthy. It’s fantastic.’ [...] They would love to add more meat if they had more money. And indeed, as soon as people have more money, they add more meat to their diet.

Emily Yoffe at Slate wonders: “Unless we go back to conditions of food scarcity and physical labor, is the human race on a path to a majority of us having bodies completely different from our ancestors?”

The Eat-Like-You’re-Poor-But-Not-21st-Century-Poor, Poor-Like-In-Early-to-Mid-20th-Century-Greece Diet sure doesn’t have the same bestseller potential as the “Mediterranean Diet,’ does it? As NPR quips: These days, you have to be wealthy to eat like a Mediterranean peasant. Hmm, the Peasant Diet; is that copyrighted yet? …

Mediterranean Diet Pyramid via WomensHeart.org.