The Mediterranean lifestyle promotes healthy aging

A healthy Mediterranean-type diet together with an active life, sufficient rest and a high degree of social interaction characterize the Mediterranean way of life. Although the benefits of the Mediterranean diet are known, now a new study by researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid at CIBERESP and IMDEA de Alimentación has shown that following a complete Mediterranean lifestyle is associated with a lower risk of developing frailty in the older adults.

Frailty syndrome is a common condition in the elderly, affecting 10% of the population over 60 years of age. “Frailty results from the loss of biological reserves in many systems and organs, which increase vulnerability even to small stressors, such as a urinary tract infection or a period of confinement. In frail people, these stressors make hospitalization, institutionalization or death more likely" - explains Javier Maroto-Rodríguez, one of the main authors of the study - "Given that frailty is frequent and has serious consequences, it is important to identify styles of life that can contribute to its prevention”.

The team analyzed data from a cohort of 1,880 people aged 60 and over who participated in the ENRICA study. To analyze the Mediterranean lifestyle, they used the MEDLIFE instrument, a 27-point composite index that analyzes adherence to the Mediterranean lifestyle. Frailty was diagnosed based on the presence of at least three of the following five criteria: muscle weakness, slow gait, fatigue, low physical activity, and unintentional weight loss.

The researchers found that people with a higher score (those who more faithfully followed the Mediterranean lifestyle) developed frailty syndrome less frequently four years later. "This is vitally important. We already knew that diet or physical activity are very important factors in healthy ageing, but with this we show that a comprehensive approach can reduce the risk of frailty more than improving lifestyle components separately" - continued Maroto-Rodríguez- " The typical habits of the Mediterranean culture, such as a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains and fish, the use of olive oil, avoiding snacks between meals, group sports activities, eating with the family and resting properly, everything counts here.

According to Dr. Mercedes Sotos-Prieto, who led the research, “Lifestyle components have been extensively studied in the scientific community, but whether they had a synergistic effect on frailty was unknown; that is, it was not known whether several healthy behaviors at the same time had a benefit greater than that expected from each of them separately”. Sotos-Prieto also mentions how this can be translated into practice: “With this information, frailty prevention can be tackled in a more efficient and simple way, since it is easier to recommend to a patient some healthy lifestyles at the same time. , instead of focusing all efforts on a specific element that will have less impact on your health”.

The study has been published in the Journals of Gerontology Series A: Medical Sciences . Although it does not include the institutionalized older population, the authors believe that it is important to use a comprehensive approach to lifestyles in all areas. In addition, the following studies should assess this approach in populations other than the Mediterranean.

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Bibliographic reference:

Maroto-Rodriguez, J., Delgado-Velandia, M., Ortolá, R., García-Esquinas, E., Martinez-Gomez, D., Struijk, EA, Lopez-Garcia, E., Rodriguez-Artalejo, F. , Sotos-Prieto, M. 2021. A Mediterranean lifestyle and frailty incidence in older adults: the Seniors-ENRICA-1 cohort . The Journals of Gerontology : Series A, glab292.

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