Children following a Mediterranean diet are 15 percent less likely to become obese, a new study shows.

In order to determine the effects of a particular diet in children, researchers at the University of Gothenburg examined data on adolescent eating habits in eight countries. Researchers measured weight, height, waist circumference and percent body fat mass of children to arrive at their findings.

After interviewing the parents of the study's participating children regardimg the frequency that their children consumed 43 foods, they assigning one point for high intake of each food group that was considered typical of the Mediterranean diet and one point for low intake of foods not typically a part of the Mediterranean diet, like diary and meat products, researchers explained.

According to the team, the prevalence of high consumption of Mediterranean-like diet was independent of geographical distribution. Researchers said that Swedish children scored highest, followed by Italians, in terms of following a Mediterranean diet. Children from Cyprus scored the lowest.

"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." said Gianluca Tognon, researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy.

The study was published as the "Identification and Prevention of Dietary-Lifestyle-Induced Health Effects in Children and Infants" (IDEFICS) and presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Sofia, Bulgaria.