Updated on May 18, 2023.
If you’re familiar with the Mediterranean diet, you might know it’s been linked to a slew of health benefits, including improved heart health and lower risk of diabetes and cancer. It’s also a delicious way to help manage your weight.
Multiple studies have shown that, compared with people who favor other types of cuisine, people who eat Mediterranean-themed fare are less likely to gain weight over time.
Weight-maintaining help
It's a fact of life: We all tend to gain weight as we get older.
A 2022 study published in the Journal of Obesity looked at nearly 14,000 U.S. adults from 2011 to 2018. Researchers found that over the course of 10 years, participants’ average weight gain was more than nine pounds. That breaks down to just under a pound each year for the average American. Over time, weight gain can increase your risk for a number of conditions, including diabetes and heart disease.
But a Mediterranean diet may help. Sticking to a Mediterranean style of eating was tied to a 9 percent lower risk of being overweight or obese, according to a review of studies involving 240,000 adults published in 2022 in Advances in Nutrition.
Following a Mediterranean diet doesn’t only help prevent weight gain. It can also help you lose weight and maintain it once you reach your target weight. When it was compared to other long-term diets, it performed better than low-fat diets in multiple studies. A 2020 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that people who closely followed a Mediterranean diet were twice as likely to be able to maintain their weight loss as those who followed it loosely or followed other diets entirely.
Benefits beyond weight loss
The nutrients that the Mediterranean style of eating emphasizes can amplify the health-promoting effects of weight loss. Here’s how:
Fill up on fiber
Mediterranean-style foods—which lean toward fruits, vegetables, and whole grains—are naturally high in fiber, which can help you feel more satisfied with fewer calories. Water-soluble fibers found in Mediterranean staples like fruits and beans can also help lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (aka LDL, or “bad” cholesterol).
Tame inflammation
The eating style is high in a variety of anti-inflammatory antioxidant nutrients. Inflammation is linked to obesity, as well as the development of many other conditions, including diabetes and cancer.
Power up with plants
The diet is largely plant-based, which may prevent insulin resistance, a major player in obesity and diabetes.
Pick the best fats
Mediterranean eating highlights monounsaturated fat (found in olive oil) which is less likely to cause insulin resistance, inflammation, or fat storage than saturated fat (found in foods like butter and red meats, both of which are deemphasized in the Mediterranean style).
Add Mediterranean flair to your cooking
So how can you make your menu more Mediterranean? For starters, be sure to include a couple of servings of vegetables or fruit at each meal. And choose whole grains over white or refined grains, olive oil over butter, and fish over red meat whenever possible.
Though it may sound exotic, eating Mediterranean doesn’t have to bust your budget. Here are a few ways to make each meal a little more Mediterranean with ingredients you can find in most grocery stores:
Enjoy a protein-rich breakfast
Top plain, low-fat, or nonfat Greek yogurt with fresh fruit and serve with a slice of whole-grain toast topped with no-sugar-added nut butter (even peanut butter counts).
Stay fresh and light at lunch
Try a crunchy salad topped with feta cheese and olives, a zesty soup made with tomatoes and beans, or a sandwich on a whole-grain wrap with bell peppers, cucumbers, and a few slices of last night's rotisserie chicken.
Have a simple, filling dinner
Create a meal around a simple grilled or poached salmon topped with tangy marinara sauce, with sides of roasted vegetables and nutty couscous.
Don't forget snacks
Try a meze plate (a sampling of simple appetizers) of warm whole-wheat pita with hummus, marinated olives, and spiced nuts.
