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The aim of this study is to determine the effect of food consistency on health and related factors among residents in welfare facilities for seniors (n = 227; mean age, 86.2 ± 8.0 years; 78.9% female). Residents who ate regular food had a lower incidence of fever during the 3-month period (p < 0.001) and consumed more calories (1325.97 ± 220.2 kcal) than those who ate chopped (1125.0 ± 256.8 kcal), paste (1122.0 ± 288.5 kcal), and gastric tube food (812.5 ± 150.7 kcal) (p < 0.001). Modifying a resident’s food by making it softer and finer did not reduce the incidence of choking. Logistic regression analysis (backward elimination method) revealed four factors related to eating regular food: vitality index, appetite, number of remaining teeth, and choking frequency. Causal relationships were not obtained because this was a cross-sectional study. The findings of this study suggest that a regular consistency of food positively influences the health of older individuals.

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Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and NPY Y2 receptor (Y2R) is involved in the stress-induced visceral obesity in mice. We have previously reported the association between 5'-flanking region of Y2R gene SNPs and plasma HDL-cholesterol levels in healthy subjects. Plasma HDL-cholesterol levels were significantly different in subjects with each SNPs (rs6857530; GG1.5-fold) 743 entities, and down-regulated (<0.67-fold) 492 entities of 54,675 probe sets. BIIE0246-upregulated genes significantly (P-value<0.001) related to gene ontology (GO) categories of 3 biological processes, 7 cellular components and 1 molecular function. Three biological processes were chylomicron remodeling, negative regulation of cholesterol and sterol transport. BIIE0246-downregulated genes significantly related to GO categories of 44 biological processes, 11 cellular components and 1 molecular function. Furthermore, BIIE0246-downregulated genes were significantly involved in 44 pathways (P<0.01), in which sterol responsive element binding protein signaling were included. BIIE0246-upregulated genes were significantly involved in 22 pathways including vitamin B12/ lipoprotein metabolism (P=0.0048). These results suggest that Y2R blockade might inhibit cholesterol synthesis and raise plasma HDL-cholesterol levels, suggesting a new therapeutic drug for dyslipidemia in subjects with specific Y2R SNPs.

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