The majority of Italians today don’t actually eat a “Mediterranean diet” anymore. In fact, fewer than half (43 percent) say they follow a Mediterranean-style eating plan, with many consuming a diet low in fruit and vegetables or high in red meat and dairy products like butter instead of olive oil, says Julia Belluz.
Researchers have observed several unhealthy changes in recent years, including a trend toward larger portions and “more refined carbs like bread, pasta, and sugar, instead of more fruits and vegetables or lean meats and fish,” says Belluz.
Italians have been experiencing a deep recession for many years—starting well 2009—and may now be relying more on these cheaper carbs for their calories instead of fish and vegetables, as their predecessors did.
