In order to ascertain the basic food consumption patterns of Japanese, the food intake of Japanese immigrants in Brazil were analyzed through the multivariate analysis method, and the results were examined as compared with those of Japanese in Japan (Nakai-cho in Kanagawa Prefecture). The principal results are as follows.
1) As for the correlation matrix among the intakes of each food group, in Japanese colonies Miso, fermented soy bean paste, and Japanese pickles pickeled vegetables, to rice and, sugar and green and yellow vegetables to bread showed a significant positive correlation, while in Nakai-cho no correlation was noted among rice, Miso and Japanese pickles, and fat and oil showed a positive correlation to bread. As for the relationship among rice, bread and noodles, a negative correlation was noted in Nakai-cho, while the trend toward a positive correlation was in evidence in the colonies.
2) As for the factor analysis on the correlation matrix, in the first factor Japanese pickles, fish and shellfish, rice, noodles, meat, Miso and soysauce showed comparatively larger factor load, and in the second factor fat and oil, meat, sugar, eggs, fruits, potatoes and Japanese pickles showed larger factor load. Here the first factor showed the Japanese dietary life and the second factor showed the Brazilian dietary life, and it was judged from these facts that this suggested the dual structure in the dietary life of Japanese immigrants. In case of Nakai-cho, the first factor was considered to show subsidiary foods and staple foods and the second factor the rice, bread and noodles pattern.
3) The results of the cluster analysis of the similarity matrix among Japanese colonies investigated showed that the dietary life of immigrants was divided roughly into two clusters. But it had no relation with geographical localities and that such local characteristics as seen in Japan were not noted.
From the above-mentioned results etc., it is concluded that the dietary life based on rice and soysauce is considered to be exactly the basic food consumption pattern of Japanese.
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