Exploring the mediterranean diet among medical students: A multicenter PREDIMED survey

BACKGROUND & AIMS: This study explored Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence, familiarity with dietary tools and exposure to nutrition-related topics among Italian medical students. METHODS: 1074 medical students participated in the study by completing the PREDIMED questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered via Google Form and distributed through social media. RESULTS: Only 40 participants (4%) reported familiarity with the PREDIMED or KIDMED questionnaires. Overall, moderate adherence to the MD was common (68%), particularly in the South (54%) and North (34%). High adherence was reported only by 20% of participants. Exposure to formal nutritional teaching was not associated with adherence to the MD. CONCLUSION: Adherence to the Mediterranean diet among Italian medical students was generally moderate, with significant differences according to geographic area and sex. No significant association emerged between exposure to nutrition-related teaching and adherence to the Mediterranean diet.