“There is a decrease in the number of people following traditional healthy diets.
A minority percentage of the population follows the principles of the Mediterranean diet, without significant differences between regions and the socio-economic status of the population”. These are the words of the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, pronounced during the summit on food systems of the United Nations, organized by the FAO in Rome.
This is also true in Italy, despite the fact that our country “enjoys a quality agri-food chain that offers all the nutrients of the Mediterranean diet”, underlined Schillaci, speaking during the session dedicated to the Mediterranean diet.
The causes of this phenomenon, the minister specified, “must be sought in the change in the rhythms of lifestyles, which reduce the time available for eating meals with others and for preparing dishes, which take longer to handle and cook”.
The invitation is therefore to “everyone commit to the recovery and dissemination of traditional healthy diets”. Our goal should be primarily to focus on food education with targeted initiatives. In this sense, the ministry has already started investing in education and information projects both in schools in Italy and in Italian schools abroad”.
International cooperation, according to the minister, also represents a key to success. From this point of view, he concluded, “there are important initiatives for the exchange of best practices to promote traditional diets, including the fight against false or inaccurate information, which must be opposed to avoid inappropriate eating habits”.
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