Nutritional intervention programme among a Japanese-Brazilian community: procedures and results according to gender

Abstract

Objective: To describe the results of a nutritional intervention programme among Japanese-Brazilians according to gender. Design: A non-controlled experimental study. Setting: The research included three points of clinical, nutritional and physical activity evaluation: at baseline (in 2005), after the first year and at the end of the second year (in 2007). The paired Student t test and multiple linear regression analysis were used to evaluate changes in the subjects' profile (clinical, nutritional and physical activity variables). Subjects: Japanese-Brazilians (n 575) of both genders, aged over 30 years. Results: We verified statistically significant reductions in body weight (0?9 kg), waist circumference (2?9 cm), blood pressure, fasting blood glucose (.3 mg/dl) and total cholesterol (.20 mg/dl) and its fractions, in both genders. We also found reductions in intake of energy (among men), protein (among women) and fat (both genders) and increases in intake of total fibre (among women) and carbohydrate (among men). Conclusions: The intervention programme indicated meaningful benefits for the intervention subjects, with changes in their habits that led to a 'healthier' lifestyle positively impacting their nutritional and metabolic profile. Keywords Nutritional epidemiology Cardiovascular risk factorsJapanese-Brazilians Nutritional intervention study Globally, CVD are the main cause of morbidity and mortality. They present multiple factors and several common mechanisms, and are highly influenced by inflammatory activity. Among the common and modifiable risk factors associated with CVD are diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, dyslipdaemia, hypertriacylglycerolaemia and obesity. Addressing the risk factors decreases the incidence and development of these diseases (1,2) .It is known that Japanese people who live in Japan present lower CVD morbidity and mortality rates than Japanese immigrants and their descendents who live in the Americas (3) . Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside Japan (around 1 280 000 people) and more than 70 % of this total lives in the south-east region, mainly in the State of São Paulo (4) . The size of this community, along with the results of American studies about the prevalence of type 2 DM among Japanese descendents in the USA (5) , led to the creation of the JapaneseBrazilian Diabetes Study Group (JBDSG). The results of studies of this group of researchers, carried out according to WHO guidelines (6) , have shown that the prevalence of type 2 DM was 25?5 % for men and 19?9 % for women in 1993, increasing to 40?6 % and 32?4 %, respectively, in 2000 (7) . Significant increases in BMI and in all other risk factors of the metabolic syndrome have also been noticed (8) . These findings indicate the existence of a strong genetic predisposition associated with unfavourable y See Appendix for list of members of the Japanese-Brazilian Diabetes Study Group.

Abdominal obesity in Japanese-Brazilians: which measure is best for predicting all-cause and cardiovascular mortality?

“…The study was conducted with first-generation Japanese immigrants (Issei, born in Japan) and secondgeneration (Nisei, born in Brazil and children of the first generation), of both genders, ages ≥ 30 years. These individuals were examined three times (1993, 2000, and 2005-2007), using a methodology described elsewhere 13,14,15,16,17 .…”

“…Similar research protocols were used in 1993 and 2000 13,14,15,16,17 . Initially, subjects were informed of the study objectives by telephone (or in person).…”

Effectiveness of a comprehensive blood pressure control program in primary health care in Peru

“…Previous interventions have employed different study designs, including randomized controlled trials (16), cluster controlled trials (17,18), interventional trials (19), and non-controlled experiments (20). Furthermore, the various interventions have included health education (21) and nutrition training (22) of both individuals and groups, and specially developed clinics (23). However, the present study used an intervention trial and simultaneously employed numerous validated interventions, including medical treatment, health education, exercise training, salt reduction, and nutrition training.…”