Our Review Summary
For decades, health benefits that may be derived from consuming a ‘Mediterranean diet’ have been reported on. This remains of general interest to readers. This story reported the results of a recent meta-analysis which pooled the results from 50 studies to examine the effect on risk factors associated with increased risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.
Why This Matters
We wish the story had emphasized more strongly that the impact was on risk factors, not necessarily end organ endpoints. And it could have explained that metabolic syndrome itself is not a disease.
Criteria
Not Applicable
Not applicable. There was no discussion of costs, i.e. how consumption of a ‘Mediterranean diet’ compared to more typical diets compare in terms of cost to the consumer. But we think most people would have a pretty good grasp of the general costs of the types of foods involved. But where this becomes an issue, for example, is with what the cost of fresh fish can do to a food budget.
Not Satisfactory
The story reported the 31% decrease in the risk of developing ‘metabolic syndrome’. But it is impossible for readers to know the magnitude of a 31% risk reduction – this should have been reported as an absolute change in risk. Also – the story should have provided some insight about how reducing the risk of this ‘precondition’ would affect individuals.
The story could have done a more complete job of reporting about the positive changes in individual risk factors, such as impact on HDL cholesterol, blood pressure, circulating glucose and insulin to enable readers to more fully gasp what was potentially impacted by adoption of this dietary regime.
Lastly – the story could have explained that metabolic syndrome itself is not a disease.
Not Applicable
Not applicable. The study itself didn’t include any discussion of potential harms that could be attributable to ‘Mediterranean diet’ adherence.
Satisfactory
The story explained that the results of the study reported on derived from analysis of the pooled results from a group of 50 studies. This story was much more clear on this point than the competing CNN.com story.
It would have been useful to readers to understand that these 50 studies were culled from a much larger number of studies. The other studies were excluded because of study design or other issues.
We do appreciate that the story quoted an independent expert on some of the limitations of the findings.
Satisfactory
We’re going to give the story the benefit of the doubt. There wasn’t any overt disease mongering of the significance of diabetes, obesity and heart disease. The first sentence made an important point – that the diet “helps improve several risk factors” – but the emphasis could have been placed more strongly on the fact this impacted RISK FACTORS – not necessarily end-organ endpoints. The point could also have been made that metabolic syndrome itself is not a disease. We could have gone either way on this one.
Satisfactory
A quote from an independent source was included in the story commenting on the study and reflections about the benefits of a ‘Mediterranean diet’.
Not Satisfactory
The story did not provide any insight about how this dietary intervention compares with other approaches (exercise or drugs) for attaining the benefits suggested from the ”Mediterranean diet’. Even a line would have helped readers think about this context.
Satisfactory
The story included an outline of the foods that are included in a ‘Mediterranean diet’ , enabling readers to appreciate that these foods are available in grocery stores.
Satisfactory
The story was clear that the diet reported on was not new and that the outcome from the pooled results echo previously reported observations about this diet.
Satisfactory
It’s clear that the story does not rely solely on a news release.
Total Score: 6 of 8 Satisfactory
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