Theincreased caloric intake caused by the abandonment of the Mediterranean diet and a drastic decrease in physical activitycould cause, for the first time, lhe life expectancy of Spanish children is less than that of their parents, as noted by Dr. Francisco J. Tinahones during the Seminar “Antioxidants: more than 4,000 ways to take care of health”, which was held at La Granja de San Ildefonso (Segovia).
According to this expert, the Mediterranean diet makes it possible to cover all the body’s needs as long as it is followed continuously. The recommended thing is a greater consumption of vegetable products, poultry meat and fish, with olive oil as the main fat. But in recent years “there has been an increase in the consumption of dairy products and derivatives and red meat, while the intake of natural products has been limited in favor of precooked ones, which implies aincreased consumption of saturated fat that has a harmful effect on health“At the present time, lhe diet of a high percentage of Spaniards is more similar to the Anglo-Saxon diet than to the Mediterranean.
On the other hand, according to data from the Spanish Ministry of Health and Social Policy, only 7.5 percent of children eat a balanced breakfast consisting of milk, fruit or juice and carbohydrates. To this must be added the tendency to sedentary activities at an early age. Dr. José Sabán, head of the Endothelial Pathology Unit of the Ramón y Cajal Hospital in Madrid, recalled during the seminar the importance of doing some type of exercise, and eliminating, especially in the case of children, the use of escalators and elevators, since “when used routinely, they are harmful to health.”
