Benefits of the Mediterranean diet and physical activity in adolescents
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.19230/jonnpr.4803Abstract
Introduction: Over 340 million children and adolescents worldwide are overweight or obese, which makes obesity an urgent problem for the world's population. This period of life is crucial since rapid cognitive, physical, psychological, and emotional changes affect health and well-being. Engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviors, such as being physically active or following a diet, is associated with a lower risk of chronic and degenerative diseases in later life.
Objective: Describe the importance of diet and physical activity in adolescents, assess the degree of adherence to these patterns, and highlight the benefits of participating in healthy lifestyles.
Method: Systematic search of the published scientific literature on the Mediterranean diet and physical activity in this population group.
Results: Children and adolescents have been moving away from these healthy lifestyles, generating the need to apply intervention strategies that promote new habits in adolescents, including an adequate diet based on the Mediterranean diet, associated with a program of weekly physical activity, which provides multiple benefits both at the cardio-respiratory, metabolic, musculoskeletal, cognitive, and emotional levels.
Conclusions: The importance of applying the Mediterranean diet and physical activity to the lifestyle of adolescents can be highlighted since they include numerous benefits at physical, cognitive, and psychological levels, which are necessary for correct development at this stage of development.
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