The Mediterranean Diet

Mediterranean diets, with its strong emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish and olive oil, is heralded as a healthier alternative than the fast-food, highly processed, trans-fat diets of many people in developed nations.

According to current United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) data, the obesity rate of people in Italy and some other Mediterranean countries is between 0 and 9 percent, as compared to the U.S., where 24 percent of the population is seriously overweight. Mediterranean diets and the lower obesity rate are believed to be the primary factors behind why the population in these areas suffer with less obesity- related ailments, including heart disease, stroke, arthritis, hypertension, gall stones and diabetes.