Abstract

Background: The changing in food system dynamics are strictly correlated to human nutritional status. The Italian Mediterranean eating habits is the result of traditions, local foods, biodiversity, nutrition, people, culture, economy and sustainability strongly connected.
The aim of the present study was to examine the interdependencies of local food system dynamics and health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet (MD) on cardiovascular disease prevention in rural areas within the Majella National Park. For this purpose, were carried out different assessments including socioeconomic, market dynamics and nutritional indicators.
Methods: A pilot study was conducted on 99 healthy subjects aged 35-70 years. For the survey on local production and the type of distribution of local food products, a “one to one” questionnaire was carried out among farmers, retailers and commercial dealers. Adherence to the Mediterranean food pattern was evaluated by a semi-quantitative food frequency, using the Mediterranean Dietary Serving Score (MDSS).Anthropometric measurements and biochemical analyses of nutritional interest were performed according to the standardized procedure. Cardiovascular risk score was calculated according to the CUORE algorithm.
Results: The results of socio-economic assessment within selected municipalities highlighted two clearly distinct areas. A first area with higher presence of agricultural activities, while in the second location were present globalized production activities and eating habits like those in “urban” municipalities. Eating local was mainly determined by local awareness of products that ensure the purchase of authentic local produce with better organoleptic properties. The nutritional assessment in the two different socioeconomic areas highlighted a significant difference in the adherence to the Mediterranean food pattern by MDSS points (p=0.002) and significant reduction by at least 3% for cardiovascular risks (p=0.0009).
Conclusion: This pilot investigation confirmed the role of the socio-environmental and market dynamics in determining the population-level dietary patterns and eating behaviours in the prevention of human health.