Why the Mediterranean Diet?

Nutrition and medical experts agree that following a Mediterranean-style diet improves health. However, the health system has had very limited effectiveness in changing Americans’ eating and other lifestyle behaviors, while limited evidence suggests that workplace-based nutrition interventions can be beneficial. Building on prior work with firefighters and the above, our proposal seeks to establish the effectiveness of behavioral change strategies in the fire service to modify the existing food culture. We aim to motivate firefighters and their families to incorporate Mediterranean Diet principles at work and home through education, participation and incentives.

News & Press

• US News and World Report Best Diets Top Ranking – Mediterranean Diet
• Inflammatory Diet Colorectal Cancer Risk
• Recruit Fitness as a Predictor of Police Academy Graduation
• Heart disease kills firefighters. This one is also a scientist, and she is fighting back
• Sugary beverage consumption in U.S. declining but remains high among certain groups
• Eating nuts linked with better heart health
• Cancer alarm at the firehouse
• How Diet Can Reduce Risk of Premature Death
• The Nutrition Source: Eggs
• Setting the record straight: It’s best to swap out saturated fats for healthier fats

• Feeding America’s Bravest, Study Underway in Indianapolis
• HDL Function Improved Olive Oil Enriched Mediterranean Diet Predimed Study
• Med Diet / Puerto Rico
• Extreme Heat Exposure Linked to Firefighter Heart Attacks
• Firefighting and the Heart
• NY Post: Why the Mediterranean diet is still the best way to lose weight
• Mediterranean Diet and Workplace Health September 27-28, 2014 Harvard Chan School of Public Health Boston, MA
• Click here to read Dr. Kales’ discussion on “Eating Like a Greek”
• Click here to read more about how the Mediterranean Diet can lower the risk of heart disease
• When zero gluten brings zero gain
• Saturated Fats Linked To Increased Heart Disease Risk
• New research links enlarged heart to sudden cardiac events among firefighters

Publications

Hershey MS, Chang CR, Sotos-Prieto M, Fernandez-Montero A, Cash SB, Christophi CA, Folta SC, Muegge C, Kleinschmidt V, Moffatt S, Mozaffarian D, Kales SN. Effect of a Nutrition Intervention on Mediterranean Diet Adherence Among Firefighters: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Aug 1;6(8):e2329147. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.29147. PMID: 37589978; PMCID: PMC10436136.

Kales SN, Smith DL. Firefighting and the Heart: Implications for Prevention. Circulation. 2017 Apr 4;135(14):1296-1299. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.027018. PMID: 28373524.

Sotos-Prieto M, Cash SB, Christophi CA, Folta S, Moffatt S, Muegge C, Korre M, Mozaffarian D, Kales SN. Rationale and design of feeding America’s bravest: Mediterranean diet-based intervention to change firefighters’ eating habits and improve cardiovascular risk profiles. Contemp Clin Trials. 2017 Oct;61:101-107. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2017.07.010. Epub 2017 Jul 11. PMID: 28710052.

Korre M, Sotos-Prieto M, Kales SN. Survival Mediterranean Style: Lifestyle Changes to Improve the Health of the US Fire Service. Front Public Health. 2017 Dec 18;5:331. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2017.00331. PMID: 29326915; PMCID: PMC5741604.

Sotos-Prieto M, Christophi C, Black A, Furtado JD, Song Y, Magiatis P, Papakonstantinou A, Melliou E, Moffatt S, Kales SN. Assessing Validity of Self-Reported Dietary Intake within a Mediterranean Diet Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial among US Firefighters. Nutrients. 2019 Sep 19;11(9):2250. doi: 10.3390/nu11092250. PMID: 31546768; PMCID: PMC6769698.

Jin Q, Black A, Kales SN, Vattem D, Ruiz-Canela M, Sotos-Prieto M. Metabolomics and Microbiome as potential tools to evaluate the effects of Mediterranean Diet. Nutrients 2019, 11, 207; doi:10.3390/nu11010207.

Hershey MS, Sotos-Prieto M, Ruiz-Canela M, Martinez-Gonzalez MA, Cassidy A, Moffatt S, Kales SN. Anthocyanin Intake and Physical Activity: Associations with the Lipid Profile of a US Working Population. Molecules. 2020 Sep 24;25(19):4398. doi: 10.3390/molecules25194398. PMID: 32987892; PMCID: PMC7582364.

Sotos-Prieto M, Ruiz-Canela M, Song Y, Christophi C, Mofatt S, Rodriguez-Artalejo F, Kales SN. The Effects of a Mediterranean Diet Intervention on Targeted Plasma Metabolic Biomarkers among US Firefighters: A Pilot Cluster-Randomized Trial. Nutrients. 2020 Nov 24;12(12):3610. doi: 10.3390/nu12123610. PMID: 33255353; PMCID: PMC7761450.

Romanidou M, Tripsianis G, Hershey MS, Sotos-Prieto M, Christophi C, Moffatt S, Constantinidis TC, Kales SN. Association of the Modified Mediterranean Diet Score (mMDS) with Anthropometric and Biochemical Indices in US Career Firefighters. Nutrients. 2020 Nov 30;12(12):3693. doi: 10.3390/nu12123693. PMID: 33265967; PMCID: PMC7759922.

Hershey MS, Sotos-Prieto M, Ruiz-Canela M, Christophi CA, Moffatt S, Martínez-González MÁ, Kales SN. The Mediterranean lifestyle (MEDLIFE) index and metabolic syndrome in a non-Mediterranean working population. Clin Nutr. 2021 May;40(5):2494-2503. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2021.03.026. Epub 2021 Mar 31. PMID: 33932793.

Romero Cabrera JL, Sotos-Prieto M, García Ríos A, Moffatt S, Christophi CA, Pérez-Martínez P, Kales SN. Sleep and Association With Cardiovascular Risk Among Midwestern US Firefighters. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021 Nov 11;12:772848. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.772848. PMID: 34858343; PMCID: PMC8632221.

Christodoulou A, Christophi CA, Sotos-Prieto M, Moffatt S, Kales SN. Eating Habits among US Firefighters and Association with Cardiometabolic Outcomes. Nutrients. 2022 Jul 4;14(13):2762. doi: 10.3390/nu14132762. PMID: 35807942; PMCID: PMC9268786.