Differences in dietary factors among areas in a small city in Japan / 日本農村医学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

To study diffrences in dietary factors among communities with different living environments, we carried out a survey by the Cardiac Study method in 241 people (106 men and 135 women) aged between 50 and 54 years who were selected by random sampling from a total of 37, 000 inhabitants in a small city. The city was geographically divided into town, flatland farming area, and mountainous farming area, and the results of the survey were compared among these areas.<BR>The mean Na excretion in 24-hour specimens of urine was slightly higher in the mountainous farming area than in the other two-areas. The mean serum total cholesterol was higher in men in the town than in those in the other areas.<BR>Factor analysis of the data for nutrient intake patterns revealed a lower fat intake in the two farming areas than in the town in the men, and a higher intake of animal foods in the town and a lower fat intake in the mountainous area in the women.<BR>These results show that risk factors for circulatory diseases such as urinary Na excretion, serum cholesterol level, and nutrient intake patterns differ even among small areas if the living environment differs.