A Mediterranean-style diet can extend the average life by a year, according to experts at the University of Athens Medical School.

Eating fruit, vegetables, fish and olive oil together with an occasional glass of wine and a low consumption of diary and meat, can contribute to longevity.

The findings are based on a study of 74,000 men and women in nine European countries and found that a healthy man of 60 who followed the diet could expect to live a year longer than one of the same age who ate differently.

The conclusion endorses the findings of previous research in which the Mediterranean diet is responsible for a lower risk of death from heart disease and cancer, the biggest killer diseases in the developed world.

Analysis of the findings showed those who followed the Mediterranean-diet quite closely were less likely to be among the group who died.

The Greeks were found to adhere most closely to the Mediterranean diet followed by the Spanish, Italians and French.

The British were fifth – ahead of the Danes, the Germans, the Swedes and the Dutch, who came last.