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  • Original Article
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Pattern of dietary fiber intake among the Japanese general population

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 61, pages 99–103 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Objectives:

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

Design:

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.

Subjects:

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.

Conclusion:

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.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Drs Tetsu Endo and Juichi Sakamoto of the First Department of Internal Medicine, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, for their assistance in this study design and in the execution of the survey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. First Department of Internal Medicine, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Aomori, Japan

    S Fukuda

  2. Department of Biofunctional Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Aomori, Japan

    H Saito

  3. Department of Hygiene, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Aomori, Japan

    S Nakaji, E Oka, K Kumeta & T Tsukamoto

  4. Department of Rehabilitation, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical School, Saitama, Japan

    M Yamada

  5. Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Human Environmental and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, Oita, Japan

    N Ebine

  6. Department of Physical Therapy, Hirosaki University School of Health Sciences, Aomori, Japan

    E Tsushima

  7. Department of Preventive Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

    S Tokunaga

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  1. S Fukuda
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  2. H Saito
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  3. S Nakaji
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  7. E Oka
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  8. K Kumeta
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  10. S Tokunaga
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Correspondence to S Nakaji.

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Fukuda, S., Saito, H., Nakaji, S. et al. Pattern of dietary fiber intake among the Japanese general population. Eur J Clin Nutr 61, 99–103 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602505

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602505

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