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🇮🇹 Italy /Health & Science

BBC Accusation: 'Overweight Italian Children Blamed on Pizza, Pasta, and Bread'

From ANSA · () Italian

Translated from Italian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A BBC report claims that Italian children are increasingly overweight, attributing it to a modern diet high in pizza, pasta, potatoes, protein, and bread.
  • This contrasts with the traditional Mediterranean diet, which director Valter Longo states only about 10% of Italians now follow.
  • The problem is particularly acute in Southern Italy, with over 40% of 8- and 9-year-olds in parts of Campania being overweight, and Ponticelli near Naples noted as an obesity hotspot.

The traditional Mediterranean diet is largely absent from the lives of Italian children, contributing to a growing problem of overweight and obesity, according to a BBC report. This finding is particularly striking given that childhood obesity rates in the United Kingdom are significantly higher, affecting about 22% of primary school children and over 35% by the end of their schooling, according to research from Oxford University and University College London.

Dr. Valter Longo, director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, explained that the "traditional Mediterranean diet has been lost, and only 10% of Italians truly follow it." He characterized the modern Italian diet with what he calls the "five Ps": pizza, pasta, potatoes, protein, and pane (bread).

The BBC research highlights that the issue is especially severe in Southern Italy. In certain areas of Campania, more than 40% of children aged 8 and 9 are overweight. The suburb of Ponticelli, located on the outskirts of Naples, has gained notoriety as one of the global centers for childhood obesity.

This situation underscores a significant shift away from the historically recognized health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, with modern dietary habits in Italy now contributing to rising rates of childhood overweight and obesity.

the traditional Mediterranean diet has been lost, and only 10% of Italians truly follow it.

— Valter LongoDr. Valter Longo, director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, commenting on the decline of the traditional Mediterranean diet in Italy.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ANSA in Italian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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