The macronutrient composition of the Greek diet: estimates derived from six case-control studies

Abstract

Nutritional data concerning the comparison (control) series of six case-control studies undertaken in the 1980s in Athens were used to estimate the percent energy intake from major macronutrient groups in the contemporary Greek diet. The data were generated by interviewer-administered semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires in the context of studies probing the nutritional aetiology of several chronic diseases. The analyses were eventually based on 228 men and 610 women 40-79 years old. The main results were as follows: (i) age has very little effect on the proportion of energy intake from the macronutrients studied, although a declining trend is evident with respect to total energy intake; (ii) the proportion of energy intake from saturated fat and monounsaturated fat and, accordingly, total fat is higher among women than among men; (iii) in the Athenian (urban) Greek population in the 1980s, the proportion of energy derived from proteins is about 19%, from carbohydrates is about 37% and from fats is about 44%; and (iv) the P/S ratio is approximately 1:4 whereas the M/S ratio is approximately 1:1, although the latter ratio may be underestimated. It is concluded that low total fat intake is not a characteristic of the Greek diet and cannot explain the apparently health-promoting consequences of this diet.