(CNN) — The Mediterranean diet is known to have many health benefits for adults, and now new research suggests that it may also be beneficial for children’s heart health.
A study published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open analyzed nine previous studies involving 577 participants ages 3 to 18 and found a significant association between adopting a Mediterranean diet for at least eight weeks and lower blood pressure and total cholesterol.
The study also supports the idea that developing healthy eating habits early in life can help prevent cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, that often begin in childhood, the researchers said.
“Eating habits during early childhood have a significant impact on long-term health outcomes,” Dr. José Francisco López Gil, a senior researcher in the One Health Research Group at the University of the Americas in Quito, Ecuador, and lead author of the study, said in an email.
“It’s important for parents to promote diets rich in whole foods and healthy fats in order to optimize their children’s health and reduce their risk of developing chronic diseases.”
The findings aren’t surprising, since we know the Mediterranean diet benefits cardiometabolic health in adults, but they further highlight the importance of consuming unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, lean meats and fish at all stages of life, said Dr. Stuart Berger, chief of pediatric cardiology at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, who was not involved in the study.
How can parents and caregivers help their children benefit from the Mediterranean eating plan, according to experts?
Should children follow a Mediterranean diet?
The Mediterranean diet is a plant-based diet that emphasizes healthy fats. Fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds, nuts, whole grains, lean meats, and fish are all included in the meal plan.
Not all children need to adopt the Mediterranean diet, but it’s important to increase “real foods” and reduce highly processed foods with added sugar and sodium in children’s diets, said Dr. Natalie Muth, a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics who was not involved in the study.
“We know that calories from ultra-processed foods make up about 70 percent of a typical teen’s calorie intake, so any change that can help reduce intake of chips, cookies, soda, etc. and increase intake of fruits and vegetables is a big win,” Muth, a pediatrician and registered dietitian at Children’s Primary Care Medical Group’s Well Clinic in San Diego, said in an email.
But it’s always important to keep your child’s preferences in mind and incorporate cultural traditions into your guidance on food choices, Muth added.For those considering transitioning to a Mediterranean eating plan, Berger, a professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said it’s also important to follow an age-appropriate eating plan and exercise recommended by your child’s pediatrician.
Dr. Tamara Hannon, director of the pediatric diabetes clinical program at Riley Children’s Hospital at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis, said family meals together to foster connection also play an important role in the Mediterranean diet.
“Parents need to lead by example by following this feeding pattern, providing scheduled meals and snacks, and exercising daily,” she added in an email. Hannon, who is also a professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine, was not involved in the study.
Hannon also encourages parents and caregivers to limit their children’s eating between meals and snacks, as well as limit sugary drinks and juices, to improve blood sugar and weight management.
Future research to improve children’s heart health
The authors of the new report found variation in results across the previous studies they analyzed, which could be due to different dietary and physical activity factors that each study addressed. Despite the variability, the Mediterranean diet consistently improved blood pressure levels and lipid profiles, which may lower the risk of cardiometabolic problems later in life, such as heart attack, stroke and diabetes, Lopez-Gil said.
Lopez-Gil said the researchers were surprised they didn’t find any effects on blood sugar or insulin levels. The Mediterranean diet’s impact on those health factors may not be as pronounced, and it may take longer to see results, she added. The study looked at outcomes in children who followed the eating plan for periods ranging from eight to 40 weeks.
“More studies need to be done, especially in children,” Berger said, “but when you look at these studies, they suggest a beneficial effect of the so-called Mediterranean diet and all that is associated with it.”
Lopez-Gil said further research needs to include larger sample sizes and more diverse populations, as well as longitudinal studies, to assess the long-term effects of the Mediterranean diet on children’s cardiometabolic health.
“More and more research is showing that the Mediterranean diet is just as valuable for children and adolescents (as it is for adults),” Muth says. “One of the most effective ways parents can take to improve their children’s nutrition is to have regular family meals and prepare meals at home as often as possible. The more exposure children have to fruits, vegetables and fish, the more likely they are to try and ultimately like them.”
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