Mediterranean Diet, Food, Health, Lifestyles & Regional Regeneration

The Mediterranean Diet is based on traditional food composition and products that have been inextricably linked to its specific agricultural and coastal landscapes for centuries. Today we can see the tendency to abandon the traditional nutrition of the populations living in the regions bordering the Mediterranean. The prevalence of the Western population of low social class and developing countries prefers a “Western” diet, high in calories and high in fat, with a consequent increase in obesity and degenerative diseases to which is added an incorrect lifestyle. Populations are inclined to move from inland areas and mountains to coastal cities or relocate to other countries from the southern to northern parts of Europe. Lifestyles that promote sustainability and solidarity in territories and cities are linked to the Mediterranean diet, which is linked to a sustainable way of living together. The issue of lifestyle and nutrition is central to the definition of policies to combat poverty worldwide. Regarding Sicily, the southernmost large island of the European continent, it is necessary to develop regional training programs to implement primary prevention strategies for chronic non-communicable diseases with high prevalence through behavioral and nutritional education. This is a new initiative of the regional authority in Sicily. That can be a real opportunity for the regional regeneration as a new economic, social, environmental, and cultural policy of the regional authority.