Children who consume a largely Mediterranean diet are less likely to be overweight or obese, a new study has found.

The Mediterranean diet involves a high intake of olive oil, fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish and starchy foods such as red potatoes and pasta. Dairy products and poultry are consumed in low to moderate amounts, while red meat is rarely eaten.

Swedish researchers looked at children living in eight different European countries, including Sweden, Germany, Spain, Italy and Estonia.

The children's weight, waist and height measurements were taken and their parents filled in questionnaires about their consumption of 43 foods. The children were then given scores based on their adherence to a Mediterranean diet, with high score indicating high adherence.

The study found that children who largely stuck to a Mediterranean diet were 15% less likely to be overweight or obese compared to children who did not. These findings were irrespective of the country of residence, age, gender and socioeconomic status of the children.

"The promotion of a Mediterranean dietary pattern is no longer a feature of Mediterranean countries. Considering its potential beneficial effects on obesity prevention, this dietary pattern should be part of EU obesity prevention strategies and its promotion should be particularly intense in those countries where low levels of adherence are detected," the Swedish team said.

Details of these findings were presented at the recent European Congress of Obesity in Bulgaria.