Comparative study of diet and disease prevalence in Greek Chians part I rural and urban residents of Chios

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Abstract
The study investigates changes in dietary patterns associated with increased urbanization and economic affluence in rural and urban Greeks from the eastern Mediterranean island of Chios. Interview data on food consumption patterns and disease prevalence were obtained from representatives of the poor rural north (n = 77), the prosperous rural south (n = 96), and the urban island capital (n = 183). Food consumption data were analyzed as monthly frequencies of 38 food items and categories using factor analysis and discriminate analysis. Dietary parameters that distinguished between poor rural and prosperous rural Chians and prosperous rural and urban Chians were dissimilar: poor rural Chian men differed from their prosperous rural and urban counterparts by less frequent use of meat, while urban Chian men and women differed from their rural counterparts primarily by substituting other vegetable oils for olive oil. After controlling for age, body mass, physical activity, and socio‐economic status, urban Chian men were at higher risk for type II diabetes than their prosperous rural counterparts, while the latter group was at higher risk for the same disease than poor rural men (p < 0.06). This difference in diabetes risk may be related to more frequent use of meats and less frequent use of olive oil and foods rich in complex carbohydrates by urban and prosperous rural southern men.