A glut of meat, too little fruit
Over the past 40 years, Greece’s once-exemplary national dietary habits have gone to seed due to a huge rise in consumption of meat and a lower fruit and bread intake, according to a university study made public yesterday. Furthermore, clinical nutrition professor Antonis Zambelas – who headed an Athens Harokopeion University study of eating habits on Crete, once lauded as a stronghold of healthy Mediterranean dietary habits – told a press conference that Greeks have developed a remarkable penchant for sweets in less than 10 years. «Greek dietary habits have worsened over the past decades, mainly due to a reduction in the consumption of fruit, a basic source of vitamins,» he said. The study found that the average per capita daily intake of meat has risen from 35 grams in 1960 to 91 grams in 1998, while fruit consumption fell from 464 to 322 grams. And in 1998, the average Cretan ate 114 grams of bread every day, compared to 380 grams in 1960. As for sweets, consumption rose from an average 17 grams per capita daily in 1991 to 64 in 1998.
