Table 1.

Potential indicators for assessing the sustainability of the Mediterranean diet

Thematic area	Proposed indicators
A. Nutrition and health	A1. Diet-related morbidity/mortality
	A2. Fruit and vegetable consumption/intake
	A3. Vegetable:animal protein consumption ratio
	A4. Average dietary energy adequacy
	A5. Dietary diversity score
	A6. Dietary energy density score
	A7. Nutrient density
	A8. Food biodiversity composition and consumption
	A9. Nutritional anthropometry
	A10. Physical activity/physical inactivity prevalence
	A11. Adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern
	A12. Rate of local/regional foods and seasonality
	A13. Rate of eco-friendly food production and/or consumption
B. Environment	B1. Water footprint
	B2. Carbon footprint
	B3. Nitrogen footprint
	B4. Biodiversity
C. Economy	C1. Food consumer price index (FCPI): cereals, fruit, vegetables, fish and meat
	C2. Cost of living index (COLI) related to food expenditures: cereals, fruit, vegetables, fish and meat
	C3. Distribution of household expenditure per groups: food
	C4. Food self-sufficiency: cereals, fruit and vegetables
	C5. Intermediate consumption in the agricultural sector: nitrogen fertilizers
	C6. Food losses and waste
D. Society and culture	D1. Proportion of meals consumed outside home
	D2. Proportion of already prepared meals
	D3. Consumption of traditional products (e.g. proportion of product under PDO or similar recognized traditional foods)
	D4. Proportion of mass media initiatives dedicated to the knowledge of food background cultural value

PDO, Protected Designation of Origin.