- Following a Mediterranean diet can improve your health and that of your family, a study suggests.
- Researchers found that relatives of dieters ate healthier and lost weight without actually trying.
- This suggests that sharing meals with people you love can be a helpful strategy for eating healthier.
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Try the popular, healthy
Mediterranean diet
can benefit not only you but everyone you live with, new research indicates.
Relatives of people who have followed a Mediterranean diet have lost weight and improved their eating habits, even without doing a specific diet program themselves, according to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity on March 3.
The Mediterranean diet, based on traditional eating patterns in countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece, is one of the most researched and priced diets for healthy eating. It is linked to benefits for weight loss, hormone regulation (including insulin, to help or prevent diabetes), healthy digestion and better physical and mental health as you get older.
Researchers from the Hospital del Mar and other medical research institutes in Spain looked at 114 family members of participants in a study on obesity and the Mediterranean diet. The study participants were instructed to follow a Mediterranean calorie diet with regular individual coaching sessions and group support sessions.
Their family members – including spouses, children, parents and siblings – have never received specific dietary guidance or weight loss information.
By the end of the two years, however, the family members on the diet also began to eat Mediterranean-style meals and lose weight.
Healthy eating can be contagious (in a good way)
Researchers theorize that the ‘halo effect’ of healthy eating habits spreads throughout the household when people cook and eat meals together.
The study supports this concept and finds that family members would probably experience the benefits if they ate more than one meal a day with their family members.
The radiation effect was even stronger when the person who followed the Mediterranean diet also did household cooking, indicating that they prepared healthier meals for the whole family.
And 20% of diet participants said that their spouse even joined their regular counseling sessions.
“The effect was contagious, in this context it was fortunately a beneficial ‘infection’, resulting in weight loss and improved dietary habits,” said Dr. Albert Goday, the lead researcher on the project and a researcher at Del Mar Hospital, said. in a press release.
However, not all healthy habits have an effect that can affect it.
The dieters are also encouraged to do regular physical activity as part of their weight loss plan. Researchers have found that this does not mean that family members exercise more, suggesting that fitness may not be as contagious as healthy eating habits.