Assessment of Multidimensional Health Care Parameters Among Adults in Japan for Developing a Virtual Human Generative Model: Protocol for a Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Human health status can be measured on the basis of many different parameters. Statistical relationships among these different health parameters will enable several possible health care applications and an approximation of the current health status of individuals, which will allow for more personalized and preventive health care by informing the potential risks and developing personalized interventions. Furthermore, a better understanding of the modifiable risk factors related to lifestyle, diet, and physical activity will facilitate the design of optimal treatment approaches for individuals. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to provide a high-dimensional, cross-sectional data set of comprehensive health care information to construct a combined statistical model as a single joint probability distribution and enable further studies on individual relationships among the multidimensional data obtained. METHODS: In this cross-sectional observational study, data were collected from a population of 1000 adult men and women (aged ≥20 years) matching the age ratio of the typical adult Japanese population. Data include biochemical and metabolic profiles from blood, urine, saliva, and oral glucose tolerance tests; bacterial profiles from feces, facial skin, scalp skin, and saliva; messenger RNA, proteome, and metabolite analyses of facial and scalp skin surface lipids; lifestyle surveys and questionnaires; physical, motor, cognitive, and vascular function analyses; alopecia analysis; and comprehensive analyses of body odor components. Statistical analyses will be performed in 2 modes: one to train a joint probability distribution by combining a commercially available health care data set containing large amounts of relatively low-dimensional data with the cross-sectional data set described in this paper and another to individually investigate the relationships among the variables obtained in this study. RESULTS: Recruitment for this study started in October 2021 and ended in February 2022, with a total of 997 participants enrolled. The collected data will be used to build a joint probability distribution called a Virtual Human Generative Model. Both the model and the collected data are expected to provide information on the relationships between various health statuses. CONCLUSIONS: As different degrees of health status correlations are expected to differentially affect individual health status, this study will contribute to the development of empirically justified interventions based on the population. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/47024.

Alpha Linolenic Acid-enriched Diacylglycerol Consumption Enhances Dietary Fat Oxidation in Healthy Subjects: A Randomized Double-blind Controlled Trial.

Consumption of alpha linolenic acid-enriched diacylglycerol (ALA-DAG) reduces visceral fat area. In this study, we performed a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover intervention trial to investigate the effect of ALA-DAG on dietary fat oxidation in comparison with control triacylglycerol (TAG). Each subject (n=16) consumed either 2.5 g/d of ALA-DAG or TAG for 14-d, separated by a 21-d washout period. At the end of each consumption period, we assessed dietary fat oxidation. ALA-DAG consumption significantly enhanced dietary fat utilization as energy compared to TAG consumption.

Alpha Linolenic Acid-enriched Diacylglycerol Enhances Postprandial Fat Oxidation in Healthy Subjects: A Randomized Double-blind Controlled Trail.

Alpha linolenic acid-enriched diacylglycerol (ALA-DAG) reduces visceral fat area and body fat in rodents and humans compared to conventional triacylglycerol (TAG). Although ALA-DAG increases dietary fat utilization as energy in rodents, its effects in humans are not known. The present study was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover intervention trial performed to clarify the effect of ALA-DAG on postprandial energy metabolism in humans. Nineteen healthy subjects participated in this study, and postprandial energy metabolism was evaluated using indirect calorimetry followed by 14-d repeated pre-consumption of TAG (rapeseed oil) as a control or ALA-DAG. As a primary outcome, ALA-DAG induced significantly higher postprandial fat oxidation than TAG. As a secondary outcome, carbohydrate oxidation tended to be decreased. In addition, postprandial energy expenditure was significantly increased by ALA-DAG compared to TAG. These findings suggest that daily ALA-DAG consumption stimulates dietary fat utilization as energy after a meal, as well as greater diet induced thermogenesis in healthy humans. In conclusion, repeated consumption of ALA-DAG enhanced postprandial fat metabolism after a meal, which may partially explain its visceral fat area-reducing effect.

Alpha-Linolenic Acid-Enriched Diacylglycerol Oil Suppresses the Postprandial Serum Triglyceride Level-A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study.

This study investigated the effect of a single oral ingestion of alpha-linolenic acid-enriched diacylglycerol (ALA-DAG) on postprandial serum triglyceride (TG) levels. A randomized, double-blind, controlled, crossover study was performed in subjects with normal or moderately high fasting serum TG levels. Subjects ingested 0.00 g [control: triacylglycerol; TAG (rapeseed oil)], 1.25 g (1.25-g: mixture of 1.25 g ALA-DAG and 1.25 g TAG), or 2.50 g (2.50 g) of ALA-DAG in random order with a 6-d washout period. Serum TG levels were evaluated in the fasting state, and at 2, 3, 4, and 6 h after the test meal. Thirty-eight subjects completed the study and were defined as the per protocol set. As the primary outcome, postprandial serum TG levels were significantly lower in the 2.50-g treatment compared with the control. The TG level did not differ significantly between the 1.25-g and control. The suppressive effect of ALA-DAG on the serum TG level correlated significantly with the body mass index and fasting insulin level. ALA-DAG at a dose of 2.50 g had greater effects on serum TG and apolipoprotein B levels in subjects with a higher body mass index (≥25 kg/m2) and higher fasting serum insulin levels (>10 µU/mL). Our findings suggest that ingesting 2.50 g ALA-DAG suppresses the postprandial serum TG level in people with normal and moderately high fasting serum TG levels, presumably as a result of poor re-esterification of dietary fat into TG in the intestinal mucosa.