The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid celebrates its 30th anniversary

As part of World Olive Day, the International Olive Council (IOC), the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) commemorated the 30th anniversary of the official publication of the Mediterranean diet pyramid.

The event, whose aim was to pay tribute to the pioneers and organisations that promoted this initiative three decades ago, brought together leading public health experts such as Walter Willett, Antonia Trichopoulou, Frank Hu, Miguel A. Martínez-González, Greg Drescher and Enrique Martínez Force.

The opening of the conference was also attended by the Spanish Secretary of State for Agriculture and Food, María Begoña García Bernal, and the Iranian Minister Delegate for Horticulture, Mohammad Mehdi Boroumandi, together with representatives of the organising institutions.

‘The publication of this pyramid 30 years ago had a great impact on the recognition of the Mediterranean diet as a healthy diet worldwide. It demonstrated how traditional natural foods can play a key role in public health strategies around the world. Today, the Mediterranean diet, with olive oil and table olives at its core, remains the model that best combines human health and planetary wellbeing,’ said Jaime Lillo, director of the
IOC.

CIHEAM Secretary General Teodoro Miano said that ‘the Mediterranean diet is more than a healthy eating pattern; it is a tool to promote sustainable food production and consumption, as well as a culture and lifestyle, which strengthens the connection between producers and consumers through its emphasis on harmony, social life, moderation and locally sourced ingredients’.

‘In a world facing challenges such as climate change and the need to encourage more sustainable production systems, the Mediterranean diet stands as a model to follow. CSIC is carrying out cutting-edge research that contributes to sustainability and food security,’ said Ana Castro, CSIC's Deputy Vice-President for Knowledge Transfer.

More than three decades of research and recognition

Although its roots go back thousands of years, its international recognition did not come until the 1960s, when leading experts in nutrition, public health and culture began to investigate its traditional patterns. These efforts, based on Professor Ancel Keys' pioneering study, the Seven Countries Study, and led by renowned institutions such as the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the World Health Organization and the Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, resulted in key conferences and publications that established the “Pyramid of the Traditional and Healthy Mediterranean Diet”, now recognised worldwide.

In 1993, experts presented the International Conference on Mediterranean Diets, followed by another in 1994 and key papers published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1995 and 1997. These works spurred global interest in this plant-based, culturally rooted dietary pattern, transforming nutrition research and public health policy.

In 2013, UNESCO declared it an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity to preserve a cultural and gastronomic legacy that defines and identifies Mediterranean territories, and this recognition has contributed to its global expansion.