Abdominal Fat in Individuals with Overweight Reduced by Consumption of a 1975 Japanese Diet: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether the intake of the 1975 Japanese diet (JD) could reduce the amount of abdominal fat in people with overweight. Methods: Using a single-blind randomized controlled trial, the modern diet (MD) was compared with the 1975-type JD, which is based on the MD but includes five characteristics of the 1975 JD in an enhanced form. Overweight people were randomly assigned to an MD group (n = 30) and a JD group (n = 30). The participants consumed test diets that were provided three times a day for 28 days. Body composition measurements and blood biochemical examinations were performed before and after the test diet intake, and the proportions of change were compared. Results: Those in the JD group had significantly decreased BMI, fat mass, and levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, glycated hemoglobin, and C-reactive protein (P = 0.002, 0.015, 0.014, 0.012, and 0.039, respectively) and significantly increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels compared with those in the MD group (P = 0.020). Conclusions: The intake of a diet with the characteristics of the 1975 JD may have beneficial effects on lipid metabolism in people with overweight and reduce the onset risk of metabolism-related disorders, such as obesity and diabetes. Abdominal Fat and 1975 Japanese Diet Asano et al.

Assessing the Physiological Effects of Traditional Regional Diets Targeting the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials Implementing Mediterranean, New Nordic, Japanese, Atlantic, Persian and Mexican Dietary Interventions

“…Table 3 describes the characteristics of the included RCTs. One RCT assessed the effect of the traditional Japanese diet [ 27 , 28 ], another implemented a traditional Chinese diet intervention [ 29 ], three RCTs evaluated a new Nordic diet intervention [ 30 , 31 , 32 ], two RCTs assessed the effect of the Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) diet [ 33 , 34 ], one trial evaluated adherence to the Mexican diet (MexD) [ 35 ], one the Southern European Atlantic Diet (SEAD) [ 24 ] and a total of 12 RCTs assessed the results of MedD interventions [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 ].…”

“…There were three trials that had double-blind masking [ 32 , 45 ], four were single-blind [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 39 ], the majority were open label [ 24 , 30 , 33 , 38 , 40 , 42 , 44 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ], and one did not report blinding at all [ 29 ]. Intervention duration ranged between 28 days [ 27 , 28 ] and a total of 26 weeks [ 30 ].…”

“…The pooled number of participants reached a total of 3486 participants. Most studies used patients with overweight simple or abdominal obesity [ 27 , 29 , 30 , 34 , 35 , 38 , 45 , 46 , 47 ], patients with hypercho-lesterolaemia [ 31 , 32 , 42 , 43 ] or at least one cardiometabolic risk factor [ 42 , 43 , 44 ], elevated hs-CRP [ 32 ], NAFLD [ 33 ], or older adults [ 40 , 48 , 49 ].…”

“…Characteristics of the traditional regional diets included in the RCTs are presented in Figure 3 . The traditional Japanese diet is based on several elements, including a high consumption of soy products, fish and shellfish, vegetables (pickles in particular), seaweed, mushrooms, fruit, and green tea [ 27 , 51 ]. Specific condiments of the dietary pattern include dashi (soup stock) and fermented seasoning (soy sauce, miso, vinegar, mirin, and sake), with rice and soup being consumed as part of the meals.…”

The associations of eating behavior and dietary intake with metabolic syndrome in Japanese: Saku cohort baseline study

“…The diet consumed by the Japanese, so-called Washoku, is widely perceived to be healthy owing to the low prevalence of coronary artery disease and relatively good life expectancy of the Japanese [ 6 , 7 ]. However, studies have consistently determined that compliance with the Japanese healthy eating guidelines (Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top) is simultaneously associated with both favorable aspects of dietary intake such as higher intake of dietary fiber and micronutrients, and unfavorable aspects such as higher intake of saturated fats and sodium [ 8 , 9 ].…”