Nutritional characteristics of middle-aged Japanese vegetarians.
OBJECTIVE
Despite the possible overall health benefits of a vegetarian diet, research about the nutritional characteristics of Japanese vegetarians is small. Our objective was to investigate the nutritional characteristics of Japanese vegetarians compared with Japanese non-vegetarians.


METHODS
The dietary intake, anthropometric and biochemical status of 75 middle-aged Japanese vegetarians (JV, 20 men and 55 women) were compared with those of 50 age- and sex- matched middle-aged Japanese non-vegetarians (JNV, 32 men and 18 women) in a cross-sectional study.


RESULTS
JV men had significantly higher calcium, iron (p<0.001) and dietary fiber (p<0.01), and significantly lower vitamin B(12), cholesterol, animal fat intake and percentage of energy as animal protein (p<0.01) than JNV men. In addition, JV men had significantly lower body mass index (p<0.05), diastolic blood pressure (p<0.001), systolic blood pressure (p<0.01), aspartate transaminase, alanin transaminase (p<0.05) and serum triacylglyceride (p<0.001) than JNV men. JV women had significantly lower systolic pressure and serum triacylglyceride (p<0.05) than JNV women.


CONCLUSIONS
JV men and women had better nutritional characteristics than JNV men and women from the standpoint of lifestyle-related diseases.
Nakamoto
Keiko
K
Laboratory of Clinical Nutrition and Medicine, Kagawa Nutrition University, Japan. 5468-keiko@san-iku.co.jp
Watanabe
Sanae
S
Kudo
Hideki
H
Tanaka
Akira
A
D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004032:Diet; D014676:Diet, Vegetarian; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D052756:Nutritional Sciences; D009752:Nutritional Status; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000378:metabolism
D004043:Dietary Fiber; D014805:Vitamin B 12