Figure 4.

Age-standardized (Italian population) nutrition and healthy lifestyles (EPIC questionnaire) by education level. Men residing in Italy aged 35–74 years, Health Examination Survey 2018–2019—CUORE Project. For vegetables intake, the following foods were considered: leafy vegetables—cooked, leafy vegetables—raw, other vegetables, tomatoes—raw, tomatoes—cooked, root vegetables, cabbages, mushrooms, grain and pod vegetables, onion, garlic, stalk vegetables, mixed salad and mixed vegetables. For fruits intake, the following foods were considered: citrus fruits and other fruits. For fish intake, the following foods were considered: fish, crustaceans and molluscs. For cheese intake, the following foods were considered: cheeses (including fresh cheeses). For processed meat intake, the following foods were considered: sausages, salami and other preserved meat. For sweets/cakes intake, the following foods were considered: sugar, honey, jam, chocolate, candy bars, paste, confetti/flakes, non-chocolate confectionery, ice cream, cakes, pies, pastries, puddings (not milk-based), dry cakes and biscuits. For sweet beverages intake, the following foods were considered: fruit and vegetable juices, carbonated/soft/isotonic drinks and diluted syrups. For alcohol intake, the following foods were considered: alcoholic beverages. These eight eating habits were also grouped together and the population was divided into those who had no healthy eating behaviour or only one, and those who had, respectively, 2, 3, 4, 5 or more healthy eating behaviours. A balanced nutrition was defined based on the following intake: vegetables ≥ 200 g/day; fruit 150–375 g/day; fish at least twice per week (150 g per serving); cheese no more than three times per week (50–100 g per serving); sausages, salami and other preserved meat no more than once per week (50 g per serving); cake and desserts no more than once per week (100 g per serving); sugar beverages less than one per week (330 mL); and consumption of alcoholic beverages limited to two glasses per day for men (24 g of ethanol), one glass per day for women (12 g of ethanol) and one glass per day for men and women aged 65–74 (12 g of ethanol). Healthy lifestyle: people who reported not being smoker, not sedentariness during leisure time, and to have a food consumption comparable to at least five balanced eating behaviours. The pool was made of the following Italian regions: Piedmont, Lombardy, Liguria, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, Lazio, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily. Prevalence was age standardized by Italian National Institute of Statistics—ISTAT Italian population 2019 (except when it is reported by age-classes).