2025 National Guidelines on the Mediterranean Diet: Executive Summary of a Joint Report by Italian Scientific Societies and the National Institute of Health Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines.

In 30 seconds

This systematic review and practice guideline, developed by a multidisciplinary panel using NUTRIGRADE, assessed Mediterranean diet evidence across nine health domains and one economic domain. It produced 84 evidence-based recommendations. The review reports that Mediterranean diet adherence significantly reduces all-cause mortality in the general population and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, particularly among high-risk individuals. It also identifies protective associations or benefits across several cancers, cognitive decline, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and pregnancy outcomes. Recommendation strength varied by outcome and population.

Key findings

• The Mediterranean diet significantly reduced all-cause mortality in the general population.
• It reduced cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, particularly in high-risk individuals; high-quality evidence supported protection against myocardial infarction, stroke, atrial fibrillation, and peripheral arterial disease.
• Adherence was linked to lower incidence of several cancers and improved survival outcomes.
• The review reported benefits for cognitive decline, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and pregnancy outcomes.

Why it matters

The guideline synthesizes evidence across multiple clinical and public health domains, indicating that dietary patterns may be relevant to prevention and outcomes across a broad range of non-communicable diseases. Its recommendations also distinguish evidence strength by outcome and target population, which is important when interpreting the potential role of the Mediterranean diet in health strategies.

What to keep in mind

The abstract does not provide effect sizes or details of the underlying studies, and recommendation strength varied by outcome and target population.