Pattern of dietary fiber intake among the Japanese general population.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the dietary fiber (DF) intake pattern among the Japanese general population.


METHODS
We performed a dietary survey among the general population in northern Japan to evaluate the intake patterns. DF intake was calculated by substituting the DF content of each food in the Dietary Fiber Table for the intake of each food from this dietary survey.


METHODS
Five hundred and seventy-seven subjects participated in the study, 198 men and 379 women.


RESULTS
In subjects with higher DF intakes the origins of the DF that were from all food groups, but with the notable exception of rice. The contribution of the seaweed group was of particular interest. From multiple regression analysis, as for food group, seaweeds showed the highest positive correlation with DF intake in both genders, followed by vegetables, pulses, fruits. On the other hand, rice showed the negative correlation with DF intake in both genders. As for life factor, body mass index showed the negative correlation with DF intake in women.


CONCLUSIONS
Seaweed, a typical Japanese food, was most related to the increase in DF intake for the Japanese general population, whereas rice, the Japanese staple, had a small influence on decreased DF intake.
Fukuda
S
S
First Department of Internal Medicine, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Aomori, Japan.
Saito
H
H
Nakaji
S
S
Yamada
M
M
Ebine
N
N
Tsushima
E
E
Oka
E
E
Kumeta
K
K
Tsukamoto
T
T
Tokunaga
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004032:Diet / Q000639:trends*; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012275:Oryza; D012624:Seaweed