The Mediterranean Diet: Cure for High Blood Pressure?

A recent study by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Population Fund showed that only 50% of the elderly in the Tunisian city of Monastir suffer from high blood pressure, or hypertension. This figure compares remarkably well with industrialized countries, for example the United States, where hypertension levels are at 84% and France, where the figure is 79.8%.

Researchers at the Fatouma Bourguiba University Hospital explain that the study’s results could be explained by the Mediterranean diet typical of the coastal Sahel region where Monastir is located. The traditional diet of Monastir is based on whole grains, vegetables, lamb, fish, and olive oil. The area is the heart of Tunisia’s olive oil industry, producing more than 9,070 tons of olive oil per year and consuming more than 6 kg of olive oil per person per year.

Tunisia’s over-65 population exceeded 7% in 2009 and life expectancy rose to 77 years. The country benefits from an advanced health care system where information about hypertension is freely accessible and anti-hypertension drugs are provided by the government.

Concerns, however, are rising as the Tunisian youth seems to be adopting a different diet. Processed food containing high amounts of saturated fat and sugar are being increasingly consumed and the country has seen a concomitant rise in youth obesity levels.

This phenomenon is supported by an article published in the Journal of Hypertension in June 2010 where a Tunisian research team established that elderly patients were less frequently obese and diabetic than younger patients.

Dr. Sonia Hammami of Monastir University believes that efforts of awareness and treatment still need to be enhanced as only 30% of hypertension patients are correctly treated. Consequently, she maintains that it is important that health planners, clinicians, and public health practitioners formulate country–specific hypertension prevention guidelines that take into account the health care systems and economic realities of developing countries.