Changes in dietary fiber intake among Japanese in the 20th Century: A relationship to the prevalence of diverticular disease
1983
Ohi, Gen | Minowa, Keiko | Oyama, Tamano | Nagahashi, Masaru | Yamazaki, Nobuyuki | Yamamoto, Shun'ichi | Nagasako, Kō | Hayakawa, Kazuo | Kimura, Ken | Mori, Bunpei
Extract: In view of the fact that Japanese dietary patterns have been undergoing rapid "Westernization," in part characterized by decrease in fiber, dietary and crude fiber contents in the Japanese diet were assessed using food consumption tables for the period of 1911-1980, and the trend in the reported prevalence of diverticular disease of the colon was studied. Fiber content declined in a diphasic pattern: the first decline (probably starting in the late 19th century) progressed until the 2nd World War. The second decline (starting in the 1950's) was mainly due to the decrease in cereal consumption. The changes in crude fiber content in the Japanese diet after World War II resemble the pattern of rapid decline noted in the US during the 1930s to the 1950s. The prevalence of diverticular disease in both countries also shows sudden steep upward turns during 1930-1950 in the US and the late 1970s in Japan, suggesting the presence of threshold level(s) of fiber intake for the effective prevention of diverticular disease. The prevalence of diverticular disease is still relatively low in Japan. However, if the current dietary trend continues, it may rise to a level currently found in the "western" countries in the next few decades. (author)
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