SPANISH ABANDON THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET

Joan Collins MORE than half of Spaniards openly admit that they do not have a balanced diet and don't spend even half an hour a day exercising. This was revealed by a survey by the Consumers and Users Organisation (OCU) into eating habits and its relationship to exercise and weight. In addition to this, a study done by the Anorexia and Bulimia Foundation (ABB) says that digestive disturbances due to eating too much is the cause of 40 percent of the cases of obesity in Spain. The OCU poll, which involved 3'986 adults between 18 and 74 years old and teenagers between 13 and 17, revealed that 54 percent of the Spanish recognise that they do not have a balanced diet. Those questioned confirmed that their diets are mainly lacking in fruit and vegetables, foods rich in complex carbohydrates, dairy products, pulses, water and olive oil. On the other hand they eat a lot of food which is a source of protein, especially meat and, in a lesser quantity, fish and eggs. Among the findings of the study is the fact that 38 percent of those questioned don't eat even one portion of vegetables a day. This rises to 47 percent for young people questioned about how many portions of fruit they eat per day. In addition to this, almost 30 percent of the adults said they drank wine or beer on a daily basis, and 28 percent of the teenagers said they eat fast food at least once a week. Finally, 59 percent of the population “nibble at something” while watching televison, normally foods rich in fat and sugar. Some 70 percent of the adults and 55 percent of the teenagers confirmed that they do not exercise for even half an hour daily, and 25 percent of adults admitted that they never exercise. Lack of exercise, coupled with an unbalanced diet, has a direct effect on the weight of the individual. Only 38 percent of adult men were the weight they should be.