Mediterranean Diet Reduces Frailty Risk

A systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with significantly lower risk of incident frailty in older people. The analysis included four studies, 5,789 community-dwelling older adults (mean age ≥60), with mean follow-up of 3.9 years. Greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with significantly lower incident frailty risk [pooled OR = 0.62 for Mediterranean diet score (MDS) 4–5 and 0.44 for MDS 6–9] than poorer adherence (MDS 0–3). Neither significant heterogeneity nor evidence of publication bias was observed. The findings are consistent with growing body of evidence on beneficial effects of a Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet consists of abundant plant foods (fruit, vegetable, whole grains, potatoes, beans, nuts and seeds), olive oil as the principal source of fat, dairy products, fish and poultry consumed in low to moderate amounts. Source: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/