American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 23, 212-223, Copyright © 1970 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Diets of Middle-Aged Farmers in Japan

¹ Director, Physiological Hygiene, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
² Director, Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Kurume, Kurume, Japan

In connection with a long-term study on incidence of heart disease on all men aged 40-59 at entry examination in a farming area of southern Japan, detailed 7-day dietary studies were made on a subsample of the men 6 years after entry. Nutrient intake was estimated from chemical analysis of composite replicates of the individual diets as well as calculated from food composition tables.

Proteins, total fats, and saturated fatty acids provided averages of 12.3, 8.9, and 2.9% of calories, respectively. Alcohol provided an average of 6% of calories. Total calories averaged 2,414/day or 44.9 kcal/kg body wt.

Mean cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the serum were 147 and 98 mg/deciliter, respectively. As would be expected from the small interindividual variability in the diet and the known facts of intraindividual variation, there was no significant correlation between individual cholesterol levels and individual dietary characteristics. However, compared with data from parallel studies in other populations, the average serum cholesterol level corresponded with the average proportion of saturated fatty acids in the diet.

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