Sonsoles Espinosa's vegetable diet at Moncloa: the mystery of the daughters

The vegetable diet at Spain's Moncloa palace that didn't rub off on Zapatero's daughters

Staff tell how Sonsoles Espinosa imposed relentless dietary discipline at the official residence: vegetables, vegetables and more vegetables, and salads in the evening. Former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and his vvife, both slim, trinc a strict vegetarian routine. Yet anyone watching the family's two daughters noticed an obvious contrast. The debate, which has resurfaced in opinion forums, raises an uncomfortable question: if the parents were so slim, why did the daughters show a notable overweight?

Theories about the weight of Zapatero's daughters

The theories multiply. One line of thought suggests the daughters compensated outside the home for what they didn't eat at Moncloa: burgers, pizzas, industrial pastries. Another version holds that the mother's dietary demands caused a rebound effect, with binges on carbohydrates and fats as soon as they escaped parental control. Some comments cite fickle genetics or an unfavourable metabolism inherited from the mother, which didn't show in her own weight but did in her daughters'.

The dark side of a strict diet

Some point out that vegetables, if dressed with oil, nuts or sauces, can be high in calories. It is also mentioned that a poorly planned vegetarian diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies that alter the metabolism. Some participants take the analysis into political territory: the contrast between the ecological rhetoric and the family's physical reality would be a metaphor for Zapatero's time in government, where promises of sustainability clashed with the results.

An unsolved mystery

To this day, no one has officially confirmed the eating habits of the whole family. What remains is an anecdote that, for many, symbolises the contradictions of that era: the public image of green pogre versus private behaviour. The matter, in any case, is no trivial one for those still debating the legacy of Zapatero's years in office.