‘People just have less time now’: is the Mediterranean diet dying out?

Possible suspects in the demise of the Mediterranean diet are not hard to find in the food court of Plenilunio, a giant mall not far from Madrid airport that offers customers 138 shops, a multiscreen cinema and dozens of restaurants.

If visitors are not in the mood for a McDonald’s, Burger King or Subway, there’s a KFC, a kebab restaurant, a noodle place, a sandwich bar, a tex-mex joint, a US-style diner or two Italian chains. Steak lovers can choose between Argentinian, Brazilian or American options, while a lone outlet meekly peddles “healthy Asian food”.

Conspicuous by their absence – barring a couple of tapas restaurants – are places offering the kind of traditional Spanish food that forms part of the celebrated Mediterranean diet.