Applied nutritional investigationGlycemic index and glycemic load of the diets of Japanese adults: the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey, Japan
Introduction
Accumulated evidence suggests a potential role of diets with a low glycemic index (GI; a measure of carbohydrate quality) [1] and glycemic load (GL; a measure of carbohydrate quality and quantity) [2] in the prevention and management of chronic diseases [3], including type 2 diabetes [4]. Findings have not always been consistent, however, particularly with regard to obesity [5], [6], [7], [8]. Such heterogeneous results may be at least partly due to cultural differences in dietary intake patterns in relation to dietary GI and GL. In Western populations, dietary GL has generally been associated with many carbohydrate-rich foods, and hence strongly with carbohydrate intake, whereas dietary GI has been associated with not only higher intakes of major carbohydrate-rich foods (such as breads and potatoes) but also lower intakes of other low- or noncarbohydrate foods (such as fruit and dairy products). However, the associations between dietary GI and GL and intake of each of the food groups and nutrients vary considerably in magnitude and direction, depending on different food culture contexts [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14]. These differences highlight the need to gather country-specific data on dietary GI and GL to better inform nutrition and public health policy in each country [14].
The diets consumed by Japanese people are typically characterized by high intakes of white rice, soybean products, fish, seaweeds, and green tea [15]. Furthermore, Japanese diets are known to be high in dietary GI and GL (range of median values: 65–67 and 141–185, respectively; GI for glucose = 100) [16], [17], [18], [19], [20] compared with Western countries (range of median values: 50–61 and 80–140, respectively; GI for glucose = 100) [3], mainly because white rice, a food with a high GI (76), is the major contributor to dietary GI and GL (46–64%) [16], [17], [20], [21]. Thus, associations of dietary GI and GL with food groups and nutrient intakes may differ between Japanese and Western diets. Information about the nutritional correlates of dietary GI and GL in Japanese populations is sparse [21], however, and this idea remains speculative. More importantly, previous studies on dietary GI and GL of Japanese have been conducted either in a limited number of individuals [17], based on the questionnaire-based dietary assessment with a very limited number of food items [16], [20], [21], or mainly among women [16], [20], [21]. Further research based on detailed dietary intake data in a more representative sample of Japanese is warranted.
Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine dietary GI and GL of Japanese adults, as well as nutritional correlates at both the food group and nutrient level, based on dietary intake data from the weighed dietary record in the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey, Japan (NHNSJ).
Section snippets
Data source
The NHNSJ, which has been running since 1945, is an annual nationwide nutrition survey conducted by local public health centers under the supervision of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The present cross-sectional study was based on data from the 2012 NHNSJ. Full details of the 2012 NHNSJ have been provided elsewhere [15], [22], [23]. Briefly, 475 census units (out of about 1 million) were randomly sampled as survey areas based on the population census. All
Results
Means of dietary GI and GL as well as energy intake were higher in men than in women (Table 2). Conversely, mean energy-adjusted intakes of all food groups and nutrients examined were higher in women than in men, with the exception of higher intakes of white rice, noodles, meat, alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, and alcohol in men and no sex difference in other rice, other grains, fish and shellfish, fruit and vegetable juice, and seasonings.
Although dietary GI was inversely associated with age
Discussion
Based on data from the 2012 NHNSJ, we found that the dietary GI and GL of Japanese adults were primarily determined by white rice, a high GI food (GI = 76), and were thus relatively high compared with those observed in Western countries. A low GI and GL diet was associated with both favorable (higher intakes of micronutrients) and unfavorable (higher intakes of SFA and sodium) aspects of dietary intake patterns. Thus, although lowering dietary GI and GL may generally be a good strategy for
Conclusion
The present study, based on data from a national nutrition survey, showed that the dietary GI and GL of Japanese adults are determined primarily by a high-GI food, white rice (GI = 76), and are thus relatively high compared with those observed in Western countries. A low-GI and -GL diet was associated with both favorable (higher intakes of micronutrients) and unfavorable (higher intakes of SFA and sodium) aspects of dietary intake patterns. Thus, although lowering dietary GI and GL may
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This study was supported in part by the Grants-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (KM, grant number 15K16213). The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan had no role in the design, analysis, or writing of this article. KM contributed to the concept and design of the study, statistical analysis, data interpretation, and manuscript writing. SS assisted in the writing of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.