Exploring the Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Its Relationship with Individual Lifestyle: The Role of Healthy Behaviors, Pro-Environmental Behaviors, Income, and Education

The reduction of diet-related diseases and the improvement of environmental sustainability represent two of the major 21st century food policy challenges. Sustainable diets could significantly contribute to achieving both of these goals, improving consumer health and reducing the environmental impact of food production and consumption. The Mediterranean diet (MD) represents an excellent example of sustainable diet, however recent evidence indicates that such a dietary pattern is now progressively disappearing in Mediterranean countries. In such a context, this paper explores how individual lifestyle and habits are related to a high/low adherence to the MD model. The goal is to examine whether there is a relationship between individuals’ healthy and pro-environmental behaviors and their level of adherence to the MD. The analysis also explores the role of consumer income and education. The study is based on the Italian population (n = 42,000) and uses a structural equation model approach. The results outline that the MD is part of a sustainability-oriented lifestyle and stress the key role of both income and education in affecting adherence to MD. Future policy aimed at contrasting the gradual disappearance of the MD should emphasize the sustainable dimension of the MD, meanwhile reducing socio-economic disparities among different population segments.