Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jul;20(7):e70014.
doi: 10.1111/ijpo.70014. Epub 2025 Apr 21.

Cross-sectional associations between Mediterranean diet and body composition in preschool children. CORAL study

Alicia Larruy-García  1 , María L Miguel-Berges  1   2 , Isabel Rueda-De Torre  1   2 , Belén Pastor-Villaescusa  3   4 , Rosaura Leis  2   5   6 , Nancy Babio  2   7   8 , Santiago Navas-Carretero  2   9   10   11 , Dolores Corella  12 , Alejandra Pérez  13 , Mercedes Gil-Campos  2   3 , Rosaura Picáns-Leis  5   6 , Jesús Garcia-Gavilán  2   7   8 , Paloma Flores-Barrante  1 , J Alfredo Martínez  2   9   14 , Francisco Jesús Llorente-Cantarero  2   3   15 , Rocío Vázquez-Cobela  5   6 , Indira Paz-Graniel  2   7   8 , Alelí M Ayala-Marín  1 , José Manuel Jurado-Castro  2   3 , María José de la Torre-Aguilar  3 , Irina Gheorghita  8   16 , Luis A Moreno  1   2 , Pilar De Miguel-Etayo  1   2 ; CORAL Study group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Cross-sectional associations between Mediterranean diet and body composition in preschool children. CORAL study

Alicia Larruy-García et al. Pediatr Obes. 2025 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Overweight and obesity in children are rising globally, and the Mediterranean diet may help reduce obesity and related diseases.

Objective: To assess the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and body composition in Spanish preschool children.

Methods: This study included 1218 children aged 3-6 years from the CORALS cohort. Mediterranean diet adherence was evaluated using the validated MED4CHILD and COME-Kids F&B-FQ questionnaires. Body composition measurements included weight, height, waist circumference, BMI, Fat Mass (FM), Fat-Free Mass Index (FFMI), and Waist-to-Height ratio (WtHR). Multivariate regression and ANCOVA were used to examine associations, adjusting for factors like age, physical activity, and energy intake. We also performed a Cohen's d analysis to assess effect size.

Results: Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with more favourable body composition in children. Specifically, both the MED4CHILD score and the COME-Kids-derived score showed significant associations with BMI, FFMI, and Waist-to-Height ratio, showing differences by sex. Children who adhered to the Mediterranean diet exhibited lower BMI and higher fat-free mass, and a more favourable waist-to-height ratio. Additionally, although some measures showed weaker associations, all analyses highlighted a trend towards improved body composition with higher adherence. Cohen's d analysis showed small to moderate effect sizes.

Conclusion: Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was significantly linked to favorable body composition indices in Spanish children, highlighting the importance of promoting healthy dietary patterns to prevent overweight and obesity.

Keywords: Mediterranean diet; body composition; body fat; preschool children.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Bhurosy T, Jeewon R. Overweight and obesity epidemic in developing countries: a problem with diet, physical activity, or socioeconomic status? ScientificWorldJournal. 2014;2014:964236. doi:10.1155/2014/964236
    1. Caballero B. The global epidemic of obesity: an overview. Epidemiol Rev. 2007;29(1):1‐5. doi:10.1093/EPIREV/MXM012
    1. Suárez‐Carmona W, Sánchez‐Oliver AJ, González‐Jurado JA. Fisiopatología de la obesidad: Perspectiva actual. Rev Chil Nutr. 2017;44(3):226‐233. doi:10.4067/S0717‐75182017000300226
    1. Risk NCD, Collaboration F, Phelps NH, et al. Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population‐representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults. Lancet. 2024;403(10431):1027‐1050. doi:10.1016/S0140‐6736(23)02750‐2
    1. López Sobaler AM, Aparicio Vizuete A, Salas González MD, Loria Kohen V, Bermejo López LM. Childhood obesity in Spain and associated factors. Nutr Hosp. 2021; 38(Spec No 2):27‐30. doi:10.20960/nh.03793

LinkOut - more resources