STEFANOS TYROVOLAS, DEMOSTHENES PANAGIOTAKOS*

*Corresponding author

Member of AgroFOOD industry hi-tech’s Scientific Advisory Board

Harokopio University Department of Nutrition and Dietetics Athens, Greece

Demographic changes indicate that the proportion of older people to any other age group has changed dramatically as the frequency of older people continuous to increase [1]. This increment is accompanied by many several chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and disabilities, and leads to a rise of medical expenditures [2]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), CVDs constitute a major cause of death, especially among older adults [3]. Over-aged individuals have to face the classical CVD risk factors such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes, unhealthy diet, smoking etc. in combination with recent environmental risk factors (e.g., financial status, social and health care support, etc.).
Globally, dramatic changes in people’s nutritional habits have occurred during the past decades. Even areas, such as the Mediterranean ones, with strong traditional healthy dietary patterns have faced up this transition from a healthy diet to a less healthy one. Adherence to Mediterranean dietary pattern has been associated with lower risk of cancer and CVDs, low all-cause mortality rates and, consequently, higher life expectancy [4]. Unfortunately, recent s ...