Table 2.
Dietary behaviors for the entire sample and by the level of adherence to the MD
| Variables | Adherence to the MD a | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Low | Medium | High | p-value | |
| (n = 1485) | (n = 499) | (n = 695) | (n = 291) | ||
| SHED index score | 70.0 (55.0–87.0) | 58.0 (46.0–71.0) c | 71.0 (58.0–85.0) b | 91.0 (74.0-110.0) a | < 0.001 § |
| SHED sub-scores | |||||
| HE score | 15.0 (11.0–19.0) | 12.0 (9.0–16.0) c | 16.0 (13.0–19.0) b | 19.0 (16.0–22.0) a | < 0.001 § |
| SE score | 10.0 (8.0–13.0) | 8.0 (6.0–11.0) c | 11.0 (8.0–13.0) b | 13.0 (11.0–17.0) a | < 0.001 § |
| BFV score | 33.0 (23.5–44.0) | 26.0 (19.0–36.0) c | 34.0 (24.0–44.0) b | 43.0 (33.0–57.0) a | < 0.001 § |
| Ready meals score | 15.0 (10.0–19.0) | 13.0 (9.0–18.0) c | 15.0 (11.0–19.0) b | 17.0 (13.0–21.0) a | < 0.001 § |
| Water score | 6.0 (3.0–9.0) | 6.0 (2.0–9.0) | 6.0 (3.0–9.0) | 6.0 (3.0–9.0) | 0.072 § |
| Soda score | -8.0 (-11.0- -6.0) | -8.0 (-11.0- -5.0) b | -9.0 (-12.0- -6.0) a | -8.0 (-11.0- -4.0) c | < 0.001§ |
| SHED index tertiles b | < 0.001 † | ||||
| 1st tertile | 465 (31.3) | 261 (52.3) | 174 (25.0) | 30 (10.3) | |
| 2nd tertile | 441 (29.7) | 147 (29.5) | 236 (34.0) | 58 (19.9) | |
| 3rd tertile | 579 (39.0) | 91 (18.2) | 285 (41.0) | 203 (69.8) | |
| % Plant-based foods in the diet | 42.0 (27.0–60.0) | 31.0 (20.0–46.0) c | 45.0 (30.0–61.0) b | 59.0 (40.0–75.0) a | < 0.001 § |
| Dietary pattern | < 0.001 † | ||||
| Omnivore | 1138 (76.6) | 429 (86.0) | 523 (75.3) | 186 (63.9) | |
| Flexitarian | 155 (10.4) | 27 (5.4) | 76 (10.9) | 52 (17.9) | |
| Pescatarian | 31 (2.1) | 7 (1.4) | 15 (1.4) | 9 (3.1) | |
| Vegetarian | 76 (5.1) | 19 (3.8) | 36 (5.2) | 21 (7.2) | |
| Vegan | 28 (1.9) | 8 (1.6) | 13 (1.9) | 7 (2.4) | |
| Raw foodism | 5 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (0.3) | 3 (1.0) | |
| Fruitarian | 43 (2.9) | 8 (1.6) | 22 (3.2) | 13 (4.5) | |
| Others | 9 (0.6) | 1 (0.2) | 8 (1.2) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Willingness to purchase and consume healthy and sustainable dishes | < 0.001 † | ||||
| Very unlikely | 48 (3.2) | 22 (4.4) | 16 (2.3) | 10 (3.4) | |
| Unlikely | 137 (9.2) | 80 (16.0) | 51 (7.3) | 6 (2.1) | |
| Undecided | 315 (21.2) | 156 (31.3) | 130 (18.7) | 29 (10.0) | |
| Likely | 675 (45.5) | 189 (37.9) | 369 (53.1) | 117 (40.2) | |
| Very likely | 310 (20.9) | 52 (10.4) | 129 (18.6) | 129 (4.3) | |
| Frequency of eating ultra-processed plant-based meat alternative foods | < 0.001 † | ||||
| Never/Rarely | 562 (37.8) | 265 (53.1) | 237 (34.1) | 60 (20.6) | |
| 1–2 times/month | 316 (21.3) | 103 (20.6) | 156 (22.4) | 57 (19.6) | |
| ≤ 1 time/week | 296 (19.9) | 71 (14.2) | 154 (22.2) | 71 (24.4) | |
| 2–3 times/week | 170 (11.4) | 37 (7.4) | 97 (14.0) | 36 (12.4) | |
| 4–5 times/week | 89 (6.0) | 17 (3.4) | 36 (5.2) | 36 (12.4) | |
| Daily or almost daily | 52 (3.5) | 6 (1.2) | 15 (2.2) | 31 (10.7) | |
Data are presented as the median (IQR) for continuous variables and as number (%) for categorical variables. a Low total score ≤ 3 points; medium total score 4–7 points; high total score ≥ 8 points. b 1st tertile ≤ 57; 2nd tertile 58—76; 3rd tertile ≥ 77. § Nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis H test for independent sample with Bonferroni post hoc test. Different letters in the same line denote significant differences among adherence to MD groups. † Person Chi-square test. MD: Mediterranean Diet; HE: Healthy Eating; SE: Sustainable Eating; BFV: Fruits and Vegetable purchasing location; SHED: Sustainable-Healthy-Diet