MEDITERRANEAN DIET AND ADOLESCENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

Authors

  • Chrisi Mavrovounioti School of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
  • Eleni Fotiadou School of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
  • Eirini Koidou School of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
  • Souzana Papadopoulou Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, School of Health Sciences, International Hellenic University Greece
  • Eirini Argiriadou School of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejse.v6i2.3206

Keywords:

youth, mental retardation, food, diet quality index

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the adoption of Mediterranean diet in adolescents with intellectual disabilities. The sample of the study consisted of 24 adolescents (8 boys and 16 girls) with intellectual disabilities who were studying at a secondary education school, with an average age of 17.63+2.018 years. For data collection, the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for Children and Adolescents (KIDMED) by Serra-Majem et al. (2004) was used. KIDMED is supported by specific principles sustaining traditional healthy Mediterranean dietary patterns. KIDMED is based on a 16-item food consumption log questionnaire that can be answered either self-administered or in interview. As for the pupils with intellectual disabilities, the answers were recorded in an individual interview. For the statistical analysis the Statistical Package for Social Sciences ver. 23.0 for windows was used. Data processing showed that over the 1/3 of adolescents with intellectual disabilities (37.5%) has a very low diet quality, while the proportion of adolescents following an optimal Mediterranean diet was zero. In addition, the diet of the adolescents with intellectual disabilities in a very large proportion (62.5%) needs improvement for the adaptation of the consumption / intake to Mediterranean patterns. The results show that adolescents with intellectual disabilities do not follow the Mediterranean diet. Therefore, priority should be given to the application and implementation of health educational programs on diet in general, and more specifically on the benefits of Mediterranean diet to adolescents with intellectual disabilities, in order to adopt the Mediterranean diet patterns aiming on the beneficial effects, both directly and long-term in their adult life.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter

References

Adolfsson, P., Sydner, Y. M., Fjellström, C., Lewin, B., Andersson, A. (2008). Observed dietary intake in adults with intellectual disability living in the community. Food Nutr Res, 52: 10. doi: 10.3402/fnr.v52i0.1857

Alberti-Fidanza A., Fidanza F. (2004). Mediterranean adequacy index of Italian diets. Public Health Nutrition, 7: 937-941.

Braunschweig, C. L., Gomez, S., Sheean, P., Tomey, K. M., Rimmer, J., Heller, T. (2004). Nutritional status and risk factors for chronic disease in urban-dwelling adults with Down syndrome. American Journal of Mental Retardation, 109(2): 186-193.

CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). (2011). School Health Guidelines to Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Recommendations and Reports, 60(5): 1-75. U.S. Government Printing Office: 2011.

Daniels, S., Arnett, D., Eckel, R., Gidding, S. S., Hayman, L. L., Kumanyika, S., Robinson, T. N., Scott, B. J., Jeor, S. St., Williams, C. L. (2005). Overweight in children and adolescents: pathophysiology, consequences, prevention, and treatment. Circulation, 111: 1999-2012.

Donini, L., Serra-Majem, L., Bulló, M., Gil, Á., Salas-Salvadó, J. (2015). The Mediterranean diet: Culture, health and science. The British journal of nutrition, 113: S1-S3. 10.1017/S0007114515001087.

Doody, C., Doody, O. (2013). Health promotion for people with intellectual disability and obesity. British Journal of Nursing, 21(8). DOI: 10.12968/bjon.2012.21.8.460.

Draheim, C. C., Stanish, H. I., Williams, D. P., McCubbin, J. A. (2007). Dietary intake of adults with mental retardation who reside in community settings. American Journal of Mental Retardation, 112(5): 392-400.

Ells, L. J., Lang, R., Shield, J. P., Wilkinson, J. R., Lidstone, J. S., Coulton, S., Summerbell, C. D. (2006). Obesity and disability - a short review. Obes Rev, 7(4): 341‐345. doi:10.1111/j.1467-789X.2006.00233.x.

Eurostat. (2018). Fruit and vegetable consumption statistics. Statistics explained. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/pdfscache/68501.pdf

Fisher, K., Ketti, P. (2005). Aging with mental retardation: increasing population of older adults with MR require health interventions and prevention strategies. Geriatrics 60(4): 26-29.

Guenther, P. M., Dodd, K. W., Reedy, J., Krebs-Smith, S. M. (2006). Most Americans eat much less than recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 106: 1371-1379.

Haveman, M., Heller, T., Lee, L., Maaskant, M., Shooshtari, S., Strydom, A. (2010). Major health risks in aging persons with intellectual disabilities: An overview of recent studies. J Pol Pract Intellect Disabil, 7(1): 59-69.

Janicki, M. P., Davidson, P. W., Henderson, C. M., McCallion, P., Taets, J. D., Force, L. T., Sulkes, S. B., Frangenberg, E., Ladrigan, P. M. (2002). Health characteristics and health services utilization in older adults with intellectual disability living in community residences. J Intellect Disabil Res, 46(Pt 4): 287-298.

Jobling, A. (2001). Beyond sex and cooking: health education for individuals with intellectual disability. Ment Retard, 39(4): 310-321.

Marshall, D., McConkey, R., Moore, G. (2003). Obesity in people with intellectual disabilities: the impact of nurse-led health screenings and health promotion activities. J Adv Nurs, 41: 147-153.

Mokdad, A. H., Marks, J. S., Stroup, D. F., Gerberding, J. L. (2004). Actual causes of death in the United States, 2000. JAMA, 291(10): 1238-1245.

National Survey of Children's Health- NSCH. (2011/12). Data query from the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health website. Retrieved September 2016 from www.childhealthdata.org.

Ptomey, L. (2013). Strategies to promote weight loss in adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Kansas.

Ptomey, L., Goetz, J., Lee, J., Donnelly, J., Sullivan, D. (2013). Diet Quality of Overweight and Obese Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities as Measured by the Healthy Eating Index-2005. Journal of Developmental & Physical Disabilities, 25(6): 625-636. Doi: 10.1007/s10882-013-9339-z

Ríos-Hernández, A., Alda, J. A., Farran-Codina, A., Ferreira-García, E., Izquierdo-Pulido, M. (2017). The Mediterranean diet and ADHD in children and adolescents. Pediatrics, 139(2). DOI: 10.1542/peds.2016-2027.

Serra-Majem, L., Ribas, L., Ngo, J., Ortega, R., Garcia, A., Perez-Rodrigo, C., Aranceta, J. (2004). Food, youth and the Mediterranean diet in Spain. Development of KIDMED, Mediterranean Diet Quality Index in children and adolescents. Public Health Nutrition, 7(7): 931-935. Doi: 10.1079/PHN2004556.

Thompson, B., Demark-Wahnefried, W., Taylor, G., McClelland, J. W., Stables, G., Havas, S., Feng, Z., Topor, M., Heimendinger, J., Reynolds, K. D., Cohen, N. (1999). Baseline fruit and vegetable intake among adults in seven 5 a day study centers located in diverse geographic areas. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 99: 1241-1248.

Trichopoulou, A., Kouris-Blazos, A., Wahlqvist, M. L., Gnardellis, C., Lagiou, P., Polychronopoulos, E., Vassilakou, T., Lipworth, L., Trichopoulos, D. (1995). Diet and overall survival in elderly people. British Medical Journal, 311(7018): 1457-1460.

Downloads

Published

2020-07-23

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 2 (2020)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

 

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

 

  1. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

 

  1. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).