Comparison of Various Foods Intakes and Their Relationships with Body Mass Index in Japanese Old Men and Women

Abstract

Objective: Obesity is an important health problem, leading to many metabolic diseases such as type2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, cancer etc. There are many diet proposals to combat obesity. Since obesity is relatively rare in Japan, we wanted to know what kinds of foods influence body mass index (BMI) in old Japanese people. Methods: Healthy participants were given self-administered diet history questionnaires and described answers on each item by recollection of diets they took (7 days dietary recall). We used a brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire (BDHQ) by using which the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reports national Nutrition Surveys. From these questionnaires, we calculated the intakes of energy, carbohydrate, fat, protein or other foods. Results: Men take more alcohol, salt fruit, beans, and eggs than women. Intakes of major foods such as carbohydrate, lipid, and protein did not influence BMI in men and women. Conclusion: Within the range of foods intakes in Japan, no restriction of any food such as carbohydrate is not necessary for staying lean.