Mediterranean Diet Can Reduce Fat Accumulation and Obesity Progression Through Action of Plant Bioactive Molecules

Obesity is a multifactorial disease associated with a chronic imbalance between energy intake and energy consumption, as well as the ingestion of high-fat foods. It is widely reported that the Mediterranean Diet (MD), a dietary regimen rich in vegetables, fruits, fiber and complex polyunsaturated lipids, can positively act on obesity onset. These aliments contain bioactive molecules that exert beneficial effects on two traits often associated with obesity: lipid accumulation and imbalance in oxidative homeostasis. Additionally, they can act on metabolic pathways linked to obesity through the cross-kingdom activity of plant miRNAs. In this review, we provide an overview of the studies describing the anti-obesogenic effect of plant-based food typical of the Mediterranean Diet. We describe the results of recent studies that link the effect of lipid reduction with the ingestion of bioactive molecules or plant miRNAs typical of MD foods. We also report how advances in bioinformatic analyses have elucidated the role of plant-derived miRNAs in metabolic homeostasis, revealing how the cross-kingdom interaction results in the anti-obesogenic action of the MD. These findings shed light on the molecular mechanisms through which the MD dietary pattern exerts its metabolic effects, suggesting new perspectives on MD nutrition-based strategies as novel therapeutic approaches for obesity.