Table 5.
Nutritional composition of foods that compose the sustainable Mediterranean diet pyramid, per pyramid tier and per NOVA group.
| Sustainable Mediterranean Diet Pyramid | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sustainable MD Pyramid Tiers | NOVA Classification System | Nutritional Composition per 100 g/mL | |||||||||||
| Energy (kcal) | p-Value | Protein (g) | p-Value | Total Fat (g) | p-Value | SFA (g) | p-Value | Total Sugars (g) | p-Value | Salt (g) | p-Value | ||
| Sweets (n = 928) | NOVA 1 (n = 48) | 48 (46, 52) * | <0.01 | 0.5 (0.3, 0.6) * | <0.01 | 0.0 (0.0, 0.1) * | <0.01 | 0.0 (0.0, 0.0) * | <0.01 | 10.8 (9.9, 12.0) * | <0.01 | 0.00 (0.00, 0.00) * | <0.01 |
| NOVA 3 (n = 11) | 340 (283, 519) | 1.0 (0.9, 11.5) | 2.0 (0.1, 32.3) | 0.1 (0.1, 2.8) | 64.5 (20.0, 71.8) * | 0.10 (0.00, 0.23) | |||||||
| NOVA 4 (n = 869) | 383 (49, 513) | 4.6 (0.3, 7.2) | 15.4 (0.0, 28.2) | 6.4 (0.0, 14.0) | 20.5 (10.6, 41.6) | 0.11 (0.01, 0.39) | |||||||
| Red and processed meat (n = 43) | NOVA 4 (n = 43) | 210 (158, 292) | n.a. | 13.3 (11.5, 17.3) | n.a. | 14.8 (7.8, 23.4) | n.a. | 5.1 (2.9, 8.8) | n.a. | 0.5 (0.0, 1.0) | n.a. | 2.50 (2.11, 2.60) | n.a. |
| White meat, fish, eggs (n=69) | NOVA 1 (n = 27) | 138 (138, 150) | 0.031 | 13.0 (12.6, 13.0) | <0.01 | 11.0 (10.6, 11.0) | 0.973 | 3.2 (3.2, 3.2) | 0.047 | 0.0 (0.0, 0.0) * | <0.01 | 0.29 (0.13, 0.31) * | <0.01 |
| NOVA 3 (n = 27) | 185 (101, 283) | 20.1 (16.0, 24.0) * | 10.7 (0.6, 24.8) | 3.0 (0.2, 4.1) | 0.0 (0.0, 0.1) * | 1.00 (0.95, 1.30) | |||||||
| NOVA 4 (n = 15) | 195 (90, 306) | 12.0 (10.0, 13.0) | 9.9 (4.3, 26.0) | 1.2 (0.5, 2.1) | 1.0 (0.6, 1.6) | 1.05 (0.95, 1.77) | |||||||
| Dairy (n = 289) | NOVA 1 (n = 81) | 48 (46, 68) * | <0.01 | 3.4 (3.3, 3.7) * | <0.01 | 1.5 (1.5, 3.9) * | <0.01 | 1.1 (0.9, 2.3) * | <0.01 | 4.7 (4.5, 4.7) * | <0.01 | 0.10 (0.10, 0.12) * | <0.01 |
| NOVA 3 (n = 63) | 282 (186, 364) * | 23.5 (16.4, 27.0) * | 23.0 (13.0, 28.4) * | 15.5 (9.2, 20.0) * | 0.5 (0.0, 0.9) * | 1.75 (1.3, 2.2) * | |||||||
| NOVA 4 (n = 145) | 96.0 (65.5, 168.5) | 6.7 (3.8, 11.0) | 3.8 (1.6, 8.9) | 2.2 (1.0, 5.4) | 5.2 (3.8, 10.6) | 0.15 (0.10, 0.78) | |||||||
| Olives, nuts, seeds, legumes (n = 476) | NOVA 1 (n = 412) | 331 (302, 347) | 0.049 | 22.0 (20.3, 24.6) * | <0.01 | 1.7 (1.2, 2.4) * | <0.01 | 0.3 (0.2, 2.4) * | <0.01 | 2.4 (1.5, 3.7) | <0.01 | 0.02 (0.00, 0.03) * | <0.01 |
| NOVA 3 (n = 22) | 278 (211, 492) | 1.6 (1.2, 6.5) * | 25.9 (17.9, 36.3) | 2.9 (2.4, 4.8) | 0.4 (0.4, 1.0) | 2.70 (1.54, 3.64) | |||||||
| NOVA 4 (n = 42) | 493 (245, 592) | 13.6 (1.9, 19.9) | 30.1 (15.5, 49.0) | 5.5 (3.0, 7.8) | 2.6 (0.1, 5.8) | 2.00 (0.10, 4.21) | |||||||
| Fruits, Vegetables, Cereals (n = 497) | NOVA 1 (n = 238) | 354 (152, 358) | 0.005 | 11.5 (5.2, 12.0) * | <0.01 | 1.5 (0.6, 2.0) * | <0.01 | 0.3 (0.2, 0.4) * | <0.01 | 3.0 (1.7, 3.5) * | <0.01 | 0.02 (0.01, 0.05) * | <0.01 |
| NOVA 3 (n = 25) | 96 (73, 120) * | 4.2 (2.7, 5.3) | 0.5 (0.2, 1.8) * | 0.1 (0.0, 0.5) * | 4.9 (3.3, 12.7) | 0.45 (0.08, 0.70) | |||||||
| NOVA 4 (n = 234) | 292 (93, 406) | 8.9 (2.0, 11.4) | 4.0 (0.5, 10.0) | 1.0 (0.1, 3.0) | 3.6 (2.0, 5.5) | 0.85 (0.20, 1.42) | |||||||
The table presents only the tiers and NOVA groups that contain at least one food product. Values are presented as median and quartiles Q2 (Q1, Q3). The confidence level was set at 99%. * indicates statistically significant differences (p < 0.01) of NOVA1 or NOVA3 vs. NOVA4. “n.a.: comparison not applicable due to small sample size (n < 2) in at least one group.