title: Cohort study examining the association between vegetable consumption and weight gain in a single year among Japanese employees at a manufacturing company.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Overweight and obesity increase the risk of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic disorders and are increasing in Japan, particularly among men. Several prospective studies have suggested that high vegetable intake is inversely associated with weight gain. Here, the association between vegetable consumption and weight gain in a group of food manufacturing workers over the course of one year was investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was a one-year cohort study of the nutrition and lifestyle survey. The study population consisted of 900 and 910 Japanese employees (aged 19-60 years) from a manufacturing company located in Musashino City, Tokyo, Japan, that were administered the same validated brief self-administered diet history and dietary lifestyle questionnaire in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Clinical examinations of body weight were also performed to assess changes in weight. We analyzed participants who responded in both 2006 and 2007 (n=478).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Risk of weight gain of more than 3 kg was significantly lower in the group consuming the most vegetables than in the group consuming the least, and this difference remained significant after adjustment for baseline age, sex, and consumption of other foods (p for trend=0.028).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Weight gain was inversely associated with high consumption of vegetables. Encouraging Japanese employees to consume more vegetables may be an important strategy in controlling weight gain and preventing metabolic syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy, Research Institute, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan. Email: sawada_kimi@yahoo.co.jp; sawada-k@ncchd.go.jp.
authors.forename: Kimi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sawada
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Nutrition, Faculty of Human Life Studies, University of Niigata Prefecture, Niigata, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Murayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Kagawa Nutrition University (Joshi Eiyo Daigaku), Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukari
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takemi
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Kagawa Nutrition University (Joshi Eiyo Daigaku), Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishida
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D019649:Food Industry; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014675:Vegetables; D015430:Weight Gain