Mediterranean diet to promote healthy aging

Abstract

Purpose The Mediterranean diet is known to be one of the healthiest diet patterns to prevent chronic diseases but there is a need to know its role in increasing the quality of life or the physical function at older ages. Recent Findings A systematic search was performed to answer the question “Does the adherence to a Mediterranean diet pattern help individuals older than 65 years having a long and healthy live without physical function limitations?” Summary The search strategy obtained six articles (three were cross-sectional and three longitudinal studies). Two of the studies contained data from non-Mediterranean countries. The Mediterranean diet adherence was measured with different types of a priori defined indexes, and the outcomes of interest were highly diverse, measuring quality of life, or functionality or functional deficits. A higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet pattern increases some measures of physical function, strength performance, or quality of life.