- Title
- Feasibility of the AusMed Diet Program: translating the Mediterranean Diet for older Australians
- Creator
- Zacharia, Karly; Patterson, Amanda J.; English, Coralie; MacDonald-Wicks, Lesley
- Relation
- Nutrients Vol. 12, Issue 4, no. 1044
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu12041044
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2020
- Description
- The Mediterranean diet pattern (MEDI) is associated with a lower risk of chronic conditions related to ageing. Adherence research mostly comes from Mediterranean countries with high cultural acceptability. This study examines the feasibility of a MEDI intervention designed specifically for older Australians (AusMed). Phase 1 involved a consumer research group (n = 17) presentation of program materials with surveys after each section. In-depth individual semi-structured interviews (n = 6) were then conducted. All participants reported increased knowledge and confidence in adherence to the MEDI, with the majority preferring a booklet format (70%) and group delivery (58%). Three themes emerged from interviews—1. barriers (complexity, perceived cost and food preferences), 2. additional support and 3. individualisation of materials. Program materials were modified accordingly. Phase 2 was a 2-week trial of the modified program (n = 15). Participants received a group counselling session, program manual and food hamper. Adherence to the MEDI was measured by the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS). All participants increased their adherence after the 2-week trial, from a mean score of 5.4 ± 2.4 (low adherence) to a mean score of 9.6 ± 2.0 (moderate to high adherence). All found that text message support helped achieve their goals and were confident to continue the dietary change
- Subject
- dietary intervention; prevention; Mediterranean diet; dietary behaviour change; intervention development; intervention evaluation; chronic disease; SDG 3; Sustainable Development Goals
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1455656
- Identifier
- uon:45114
- Identifier
- ISSN:2072-6643
- Rights
- This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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