a. RATIONALE FOR STUDYING THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE GREEK DIET

The diets followed by people living in southern European regions in the 1960s have
formed the basis for a healthy-eating model called the Mediterranean diet. The
rationale for the promotion of Mediterranean dietary patterns and foodways among
non-Mediterranean peoples lies in the ability of these dietary patterns to reduce
chronic disease risk.1 The major source of information regarding traditional Medi-
terranean diets has been the Seven Countries Study,23 conducted in the 1960s and
1970s. It has been argued, however, that the historical, social, and cultural features
underpinning the Mediterranean Diet have been largely ignored, and thus, the pro-
posed food models constitute artifacts that cannot be of benefit to non-Mediterranean
populations.4 Regarding the Greek version of the Mediterranean Diet specifically,
available information describes the diets followed on Greek islands since the
1940s,5-7 but no information is available in the medical literature on Greek dietary
patterns prior to World War II.
Revealing the characteristics of the Greek diet before World War II is important
for appreciating the historical and social perspectives of the traditional Mediterranean
diet and, therefore, understanding how it has evolved. It has been argued that insight
on how the Mediterranean Diet has developed over time is required in order to
formulate effective food guides for Mediterranean populations.8 A historical insight
into the Greek diet will also facilitate any attempt to define the unifying character-
istics among traditional diets followed in different regions of the Mediterranean.
The scope of this chapter is to examine the dietary patterns prevailing in Greece
prior to World War II. Specific questions addressed are: what were the dietary
patterns of the Greeks during the 19th and early 20th centuries? How did Greek
dietary patterns differ among social classes? How did they differ from the diets
followed in other European regions? Were the dietary patterns followed by Greeks
before World War II similar to those recorded in the 1960s?