The Impact of Mediterranean Diet on Global Challenges

Abstract : Mediterranean diet is considered healthy compared to typical western diets while it was used by populations residing in Mediterranean basin since centuries. Several studies indicate that Mediterranean diet offers many health and environmental benefits. The positive impacts of this diet in treating various global challenges have been examined. Reviewing several published papers the impacts of Mediterranean diet on managing obesity and malnutrition, on climate change mitigation and in the achievement of the sustainable development goals have been investigated. The results indicate that the use of Mediterranean diet helps in treating obesity and malnutrition, while it contributes positively in climate change mitigation and in achieving the 17 sustainable development goals. Unfortunately, for several reasons, the traditional Mediterranean diet has been nowadays replaced by unhealthy western type diets burdening various global challenges that humanity faces. Our work is important since it indicates that the change of our dietary pattern shifting from western diet to Mediterranean diet will result in the mitigation of several global challenges. The results of the present study could be useful to medicinal doctors, policy makers, public authorities, non-governmental environmental organizations and other institutions related with the abovementioned issues.