Health promotion through Shokuiku: health in adult life

The Japanese people are well known f o r t h e i r r e m a r k a b l e l o n g e v i t y. Although this may be partly due to high standards of medical therapy and health consciousness, traditional dietary habits of eating rice, vegetables and fish are also thought to play a role. Recent trends toward overeating and westernization of eating habits have increased the frequency of so-called “lifestyle-related diseases”, such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension and dyslipidemia. This may impact longevity in men: in Okinawa, male longevity has fallen from the world number one position to 26th in 2005, due to the infl uence of American culture during the occupation after World War II. Characteristics of Japanese obesity The proportion of Japanese with a BMI of more than 25 is only 2-3%, while it is more than 30% in western countries. However, the incidence of diabetes and hypertension is similar to those of westerners, showing that even slight obesity can lead to lifestyle-related diseases in Japanese people. The Japanese Obesity Association defines obesity as a BMI of more than 25. Japanese obesity among men is increasing in all age categories, while in females obesity remains constant in older age groups, but is decreasing in younger age groups. Health effects of being underweight also need to be considered. What kinds of obesity cause lifestylerelated diseases? Obesity and obesity-related diseases have been extensively studied in Japan. Accumulation of fat tissue has been analyzed by CT scanning, and visceral fat deposition has been linked to a high risk of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and atherosclerotic diseases. Subcutaneous fat has not been related to increased risk. Visceral fat accumulation is not necessarily related to BMI; we have therefore proposed the concept of a visceral fat syndrome, which seems to be common in other Asian countries. The concept relates to the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, proposed by eight Health promotion through Shokuiku: Health in adult life