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Dr. Stefano Quarta
Università del Salento (Lecce, Italy)

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Research Keywords & Expertise

0 Coronary Artery Disease
0 Nutrition
0 Adipose tissue
0 Epicardial adipose tissue
0 Adipocyte Biology

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Short Biography

Stefano Quarta is a Ph.D. student in Molecular Biology at the University of Salento, Italy. He holds an MSc in Biology (merit mention), University of Salento, 2020. His research interests are in the field of molecular mechanisms underlying adipose tissue dysregulation under inflammatory and insulin resistance conditions. He is exploring these links in adipose cell culture models and analyzing adipose human tissues including visceral and epicardial adipose tissue. He is also involved in nutrigenomic projects aimed at characterizing the effects of different nutraceuticals to discover new potential treatments for metabolic diseases. Since 2019, he has joined the MeDiWeB consortium with the aim of deepening the link between Mediterranean diet adherence and global well-being.

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Journal article
Published: 23 April 2021 in Nutrients
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The Mediterranean diet (MD) has been sponsored worldwide as a healthy and sustainable diet. Our aim was to update and compare MD adherence and food choices across several Southern European countries: Spain (SP), Portugal (PT), Italy (IT), Greece (GR), and Cyprus (CY) (MED, Mediterranean), and Bulgaria (BG) and the Republic of North Macedonia (NMK) (non-MED, non-Mediterranean). Participants (N = 3145, ≥18 y) completed a survey (MeDiWeB) with sociodemographic, anthropometric, and food questions (14-item Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener, 14-MEDAS). The MED and non-MED populations showed moderate (7.08 ± 1.96) and weak (5.58 ± 1.82) MD adherence, respectively, with significant yet small differences across countries (SP > PT > GR > IT > CY > BG > NMK, p-value < 0.001). The MED participants scored higher than the non-MED ones for most of the Mediterranean-typical foods, with the greatest differences found for olive oil (OO) and white meat preference. In most countries, ≥70% of the participants reported quantities of red meat, butter, sweet drinks, and desserts below the recommended cutoff points, whereas <50% achieved the targets for plant-based foods, OO, fish, and wine. Being a woman and increasing age were associated with superior adherence (p-value < 0.001), but differences were rather small. Our results suggest that the campaigns carried out to support and reinforce the MD and to promote plant-based foods have limited success across Southern Europe, and that more hard-hitting strategies are needed.

ACS Style

Stefano Quarta; Marika Massaro; Mihail Chervenkov; Teodora Ivanova; Dessislava Dimitrova; Rui Jorge; Vanda Andrade; Elena Philippou; Constantinos Zisimou; Viktorija Maksimova; Katarina Smilkov; Darinka Ackova; Lence Miloseva; Tatjana Ruskovska; Georgia Deligiannidou; Christos Kontogiorgis; Julio Sánchez-Meca; Paula Pinto; María-Teresa García-Conesa. Persistent Moderate-to-Weak Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Low Scoring for Plant-Based Foods across Several Southern European Countries: Are We Overlooking the Mediterranean Diet Recommendations? Nutrients 2021, 13, 1432 .

AMA Style

Stefano Quarta, Marika Massaro, Mihail Chervenkov, Teodora Ivanova, Dessislava Dimitrova, Rui Jorge, Vanda Andrade, Elena Philippou, Constantinos Zisimou, Viktorija Maksimova, Katarina Smilkov, Darinka Ackova, Lence Miloseva, Tatjana Ruskovska, Georgia Deligiannidou, Christos Kontogiorgis, Julio Sánchez-Meca, Paula Pinto, María-Teresa García-Conesa. Persistent Moderate-to-Weak Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Low Scoring for Plant-Based Foods across Several Southern European Countries: Are We Overlooking the Mediterranean Diet Recommendations? Nutrients. 2021; 13 (5):1432.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefano Quarta; Marika Massaro; Mihail Chervenkov; Teodora Ivanova; Dessislava Dimitrova; Rui Jorge; Vanda Andrade; Elena Philippou; Constantinos Zisimou; Viktorija Maksimova; Katarina Smilkov; Darinka Ackova; Lence Miloseva; Tatjana Ruskovska; Georgia Deligiannidou; Christos Kontogiorgis; Julio Sánchez-Meca; Paula Pinto; María-Teresa García-Conesa. 2021. "Persistent Moderate-to-Weak Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Low Scoring for Plant-Based Foods across Several Southern European Countries: Are We Overlooking the Mediterranean Diet Recommendations?" Nutrients 13, no. 5: 1432.

Journal article
Published: 27 September 2020 in Nutrients
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This study provides comprehensive validation of the 14-item Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (14-MEDAS) in an adult population from Greece (GR), Portugal (PT), Italy (IT), Spain (SP), Cyprus (CY), Republic of North Macedonia (NMK), and Bulgaria (BG). A moderate association between the 14-MEDAS and the reference food diary was estimated for the entire population (Pearson r = 0.573, p-value < 0.001; Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) = 0.692, p-value < 0.001) with the strongest correlation found in GR, followed by PT, IT, SP, and CY. These results were supported by kappa statistics in GR, PT, IT, and SP with ≥50% of food items exhibiting a fair or better agreement. Bland–Altman analyses showed an overestimation of the 14-MEDAS score in the whole population (0.79 ± 1.81, 95%Confidence Interval (CI) 0.61, 0.96), but this value was variable across countries, with GR, NMK, and BG exhibiting the lowest bias. Taking all analyses together, the validation achieved slightly better results in the Mediterranean countries but a definitive validation ranking order was not evident. Considering growing evidence of the shift from Mediterranean Diet (MD) adherence and of the importance of culture in making food choices it is crucial that we further improve validation protocols with specific applications to compare MD adherence across countries.

ACS Style

María-Teresa García-Conesa; Elena Philippou; Christos Pafilas; Marika Massaro; Stefano Quarta; Vanda Andrade; Rui Jorge; Mihail Chervenkov; Teodora Ivanova; Dessislava Dimitrova; Viktorija Maksimova; Katarina Smilkov; Darinka Gjorgieva Ackova; Lence Miloseva; Tatjana Ruskovska; Georgia Eirini Deligiannidou; Christos A. Kontogiorgis; Paula Pinto. Exploring the Validity of the 14-Item Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS): A Cross-National Study in Seven European Countries around the Mediterranean Region. Nutrients 2020, 12, 2960 .

AMA Style

María-Teresa García-Conesa, Elena Philippou, Christos Pafilas, Marika Massaro, Stefano Quarta, Vanda Andrade, Rui Jorge, Mihail Chervenkov, Teodora Ivanova, Dessislava Dimitrova, Viktorija Maksimova, Katarina Smilkov, Darinka Gjorgieva Ackova, Lence Miloseva, Tatjana Ruskovska, Georgia Eirini Deligiannidou, Christos A. Kontogiorgis, Paula Pinto. Exploring the Validity of the 14-Item Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS): A Cross-National Study in Seven European Countries around the Mediterranean Region. Nutrients. 2020; 12 (10):2960.

Chicago/Turabian Style

María-Teresa García-Conesa; Elena Philippou; Christos Pafilas; Marika Massaro; Stefano Quarta; Vanda Andrade; Rui Jorge; Mihail Chervenkov; Teodora Ivanova; Dessislava Dimitrova; Viktorija Maksimova; Katarina Smilkov; Darinka Gjorgieva Ackova; Lence Miloseva; Tatjana Ruskovska; Georgia Eirini Deligiannidou; Christos A. Kontogiorgis; Paula Pinto. 2020. "Exploring the Validity of the 14-Item Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS): A Cross-National Study in Seven European Countries around the Mediterranean Region." Nutrients 12, no. 10: 2960.