14 DAY TRIAL // According to medical reports presented at the World Congress of Cardiology held in Barcelona, Mediterranean people consume more and more junk food by the day, informs Reuters News. Despite the fact that countries ranging the Mediterranean Sea are extremely rich in natural and healthy food resources, it seems that their population would rather opt out for a hot-dog or hamburger than for fresh fruits and vegetables.
Doctors and scientists taking part in the world meeting noticed that more and more teenagers and young people from Greece, Italy and Spain turn to French fries and burgers and leave behind traditional, healthy diets based on the famous olive oil, ripe tomatoes, fish etc. Experts warned that the regions which were once known for the healthy lifestyle they promoted and for the healthy dwellers with healthy hearts could easily become another critical area struggling with morbid obesity epidemic.
"The Mediterranean diet is changing. Young people are not eating well today - obesity is increasing and we are losing our diet. We need to return to the classical patterns of Mediterranean diet that we had in the 1960s and 1970s," pointed out Dr Ramon Estruch of the University of Barcelona.
Dr Valentin Fuster, president of the World Heart Federation, explained that junk food addiction and obesity are closely connected with the economical development. People becoming so preoccupied with their jobs and their ambition to earn lots of money makes them work almost non-stop, having disorganized and messy lifestyles and diets. This is why they eat only when they have the time to and they prefer ordering food at the office or at home over cooking a healthy dish.
Dr Michal Tendera, president of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) noted: "It's really a problem. In northern Europe we are seeing a tendency to a more healthy diet. Unfortunately, in those countries that traditionally have had a Mediterranean diet, the situation is not improving but deteriorating. Diet is getting worse and the amount of exercise that people take is very, very low."