Table 1.
Characteristics of study participants: age, sex, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet for the total study population and according to parents’ education level. KIDMED: Kids’ level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet.
| Variables | Total | Primary School or No School | Secondary School | University | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | p | ||
| Age | ||||||||||
| Children, 8–11 years | 1500 | 45.0 | 165 | 11.0 | 764 | 50.9 | 571 | 38.1 | ||
| Adolescents, 12–16 years | 1833 | 55.0 | 203 | 11.1 | 1014 | 55.3 | 616 | 33.6 | ||
| Sex | ||||||||||
| Boys | 1595 | 47.9 | 189 | 11.8 | 833 | 52.2 | 573 | 35.9 | ||
| Girls | 1738 | 52.1 | 179 | 10.3 | 945 | 54.4 | 614 | 35.3 | 0.271 | |
| Mediterranean diet adherence (KIDMED index) | ||||||||||
| Low | 339 | 10.2 | 42 | 11.4 a | 226 | 12.7 a | 71 | 6.0 b | ||
| Medium | 1644 | 49.3 | 211 | 57.3 a | 906 | 51.0 b | 527 | 44.4 c | ||
| High | 1350 | 40.5 | 115 | 31.3 a | 646 | 36.3 a | 589 | 49.6 b | <0.001 | |
| Daily fruit consumption | ||||||||||
| No | 926 | 27.8 | 103 | 28.0 a | 548 | 30.8 a | 275 | 23.2 b | ||
| Yes | 2407 | 72.2 | 265 | 72.0 a | 1230 | 69.2 a | 912 | 76.8 b | <0.001 | |
| Daily consumption of more than one serving of fruit | ||||||||||
| No | 1640 | 49.2 | 181 | 49.2 a | 963 | 54.2 a | 496 | 41.8 b | ||
| Yes | 1693 | 50.8 | 187 | 50.8 a | 815 | 45.8 a | 691 | 58.2 b | <0.001 | |
| Daily vegetable consumption | ||||||||||
| No | 1198 | 35.9 | 148 | 40.2 a | 684 | 38.5 a | 366 | 30.8 b | ||
| Yes | 2135 | 64.1 | 220 | 59.8 a | 1094 | 61.5 a | 821 | 69.2 b | <0.001 | |
| Daily consumption of more than one serving of vegetables | ||||||||||
| No | 2260 | 67.8 | 253 | 68.8 a | 1229 | 69.1 a | 778 | 65.5 a | ||
| Yes | 1073 | 32.2 | 115 | 31.3 a | 549 | 30.9 a | 409 | 34.5 a | 0.114 | |
| Fish consumption at least 2–3 times per week | ||||||||||
| No | 1260 | 37.8 | 152 | 41.3 a | 741 | 41.7 a | 367 | 30.9 b | ||
| Yes | 2073 | 62.2 | 216 | 58.7 a | 1037 | 58.3 a | 820 | 69.1 b | <0.001 | |
| Legume consumption at least once per week | ||||||||||
| No | 1018 | 30.5 | 129 | 35.1 a | 561 | 31.6 a,b | 328 | 27.6 b | ||
| Yes | 2315 | 69.5 | 239 | 64.9 a | 1217 | 68.4 a,b | 859 | 72.4 b | 0.010 | |
| Pasta or rice consumption 5 or more times per week | ||||||||||
| No | 1718 | 51.5 | 185 | 50.3 a | 887 | 49.9 a | 646 | 54.4 b | ||
| Yes | 1615 | 48.5 | 183 | 49.7 a | 891 | 50.1 a | 541 | 45.6 b | 0.047 | |
| Consumption of at least one serving of dairy products per day | ||||||||||
| No | 741 | 22.2 | 98 | 26.6 a | 411 | 23.1 a,b | 232 | 19.5 b | ||
| Yes | 2592 | 77.8 | 270 | 73.4 a | 1367 | 76.9 a,b | 955 | 80.5 b | 0.007 | |
| Nuts consumption at least 2–3 times per week | ||||||||||
| No | 1604 | 48.1 | 189 | 51.4 a | 893 | 50.2 a | 522 | 44.0 b | ||
| Yes | 1729 | 51.9 | 179 | 48.6 a | 885 | 49.8 a | 665 | 56.0 b | 0.002 | |
| Use of olive oil at home | ||||||||||
| No | 287 | 8.6 | 38 | 10.3 a | 163 | 9.2 a | 86 | 7.2 a | ||
| Yes | 3046 | 91.4 | 330 | 89.7 a | 1615 | 90.8 a | 1101 | 92.8 a | 0.087 | |
| Sweets and candy consumption several times per day | ||||||||||
| No | 2616 | 78.5 | 270 | 73.4 a | 1340 | 75.4 a | 1006 | 84.8 b | ||
| Yes | 717 | 21.5 | 98 | 26.6 a | 438 | 24.6 a | 181 | 15.2 b | <0.001 | |
| Consumption of fast food at least once per week | ||||||||||
| No | 2572 | 77.2 | 263 | 71.5 a | 1324 | 74.5 a | 985 | 83.0 b | ||
| Yes | 761 | 22.8 | 105 | 28.5 a | 454 | 25.5 a | 202 | 17.0 b | <0.001 | |
p value for the chi-square test among education levels and the variables studied. a,b,c different letters mean p < 0.05 on the comparisons between education level categories (Bonferroni-corrected p-values).