161719 20251017144643.0 doi 10.1111/ijpo.70014 sideral 144369 ART-2025-144369 eng Larruy-García, Alicia Cross‐sectional associations between Mediterranean diet and body composition in preschool children. CORAL study 2025 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted Background: Overweight and obesity in children are rising globally, and the Mediterranean diet may help reduce obesity and related diseases. Objective: To assess the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and body composition in Spanish preschool children. Methods: This study included 1218 children aged 3–6 years from the CORALS cohort. Mediterranean diet adherence was evaluated using the validated MED4CHILD and COME-Kids F&B-FQ questionnaires. Body composition measurements included weight, height, waist circumference, BMI, Fat Mass (FM), Fat-Free Mass Index (FFMI), and Waist-to-Height ratio (WtHR). Multivariate regression and ANCOVA were used to examine associations, adjusting for factors like age, physical activity, and energy intake. We also performed a Cohen's d analysis to assess effect size. Results: Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with more favourable body composition in children. Specifically, both the MED4CHILD score and the COME-Kids-derived score showed significant associations with BMI, FFMI, and Waist-to-Height ratio, showing differences by sex. Children who adhered to the Mediterranean diet exhibited lower BMI and higher fat-free mass, and a more favourable waist-to-height ratio. Additionally, although some measures showed weaker associations, all analyses highlighted a trend towards improved body composition with higher adherence. Cohen's d analysis showed small to moderate effect sizes. Conclusion: Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was significantly linked to favorable body composition indices in Spanish children, highlighting the importance of promoting healthy dietary patterns to prevent overweight and obesity. info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess All rights reserved http://www.europeana.eu/rights/rr-f/ info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion Miguel-Berges, María L. Rueda De Torre, Isabel Universidad de Zaragoza Pastor-Villaescusa, Belén Leis, Rosaura Babio, Nancy Navas-Carretero, Santiago Corella, Dolores Pérez, Alejandra Gil-Campos, Mercedes Picáns-Leis, Rosaura Garcia-Gavilán, Jesús Flores-Barrante, Paloma (orcid)0000-0002-2135-900X Martínez, J. Alfredo Llorente-Cantarero, Francisco Jesús Vázquez-Cobela, Rocío Paz-Graniel, Indira Ayala-Marín, Alelí M. Jurado-Castro, José Manuel de la Torre-Aguilar, María José Gheorghita, Irina Moreno, Luis A. Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0003-0454-653X Miguel-Etayo, Pilar de (orcid)0000-0001-6173-5850 1006 255 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Fisiatría y Enfermería Área Enfermería 1011 615 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Microb.Ped.Radio.Sal.Pú. Área Medic.Prevent.Salud Públ. 20, 7 (2025), e70014 [12 pp.] Pediatr. obes. Pediatric obesity 2047-6302 715175 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/161719/files/texto_completo.pdf Postprint 1858698 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/161719/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Postprint oai:zaguan.unizar.es:161719 articulos driver 2025-10-17-14:33:03 ARTICLE