Based on dietary records from 544 persons—female university students and their parents—we developed a database using 42,508 dishes consumed on 2,877 days. We then analyzed the database using the names of the dishes, the weights of foods used in them, and their nutrient values. Focusing on nutrient values and weights in selected food groups, we classified the dishes into 11 pattern groups by cluster analysis, in which protein, lipid, carbohydrate, weight of vegetables, fruit and milk as food groups were selected as variables in the model. There were three different type of large groups: “combined dish group”, “single dish group” and others. The “combined dish group” had three pattern groups: “compound staple food” (n=1,364; e.g. curry and rice), “compound main dish” (n=448; e.g. Sukiyaki), and “compound side dish (n=695; e.g. Oden). The “single dish group” had 6 pattern groups: “staple food” (n=5,916) containing 60 g of carbohydrate, “main dish” (n=1,789) containing 20.3 g of protein, “side dish” (n=4,226) with 70 g of vegetables, “milk and dairy products” (n=1,362) with 187 g of milk, and two separate “fruits” groups with 100 g (n=1,582) and 230 g of fruits (n=343) on average in each group. However, the majority of dishes were not classified into these 9 groups, but into “small main dish” (n=5,865) mostly served in lunch boxes or small pots, and “drink or small dish” (n=18,918). These 11 dish pattern groups have significant and important characteristics for dietary assessment and nutrition education in terms of nutrient content or food type.

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In this study, serum leptin concentrations were examined in Japanese adolescents. Serum leptin concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay, and height, weight and percentage body fat were also measured in healthy non-obese subjects (junior high school age: n=352, high school age: n=446). The mean serum leptin concentration differed significantly by both sex and age. The 95% confidence intervals were 1.0-7.8 ng/mL for boys and 2.1-15.9 ng/mL for girls at junior high school, and 0.8-5.0 ng/mL and 3.0-16.4 ng/mL for boys and girls, respectively, at high school. There was a significant positive correlation between serum leptin concentration and percentage body fat, although the regression line for this relationship differed significantly between boys and girls. The regression line did not differ by school year, and there was no difference between post-menarche and pre-menarche in girls. Therefore, these results suggest that serum leptin concentrations in adolescents may be estimated by measurement of body fat percentage, regardless of age and the presence or absence of menarche.

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Among various models of diabetes, we selected the murine type 1 and type 2 diabetes models, and a diabetes model created by administering alloxan to normal mice through the tail vein. We compared changes in the condition of the animals using changes in body weight and blood sugar as well as cytokine mRNA expression in the pancreas as indices. In the type 1 diabetes model and alloxan-treated groups, Th1 cells were induced, suggesting that cell-mediated immunity was more markedly enhanced than humoral immunity in these mice. On the other hand, in the type 2 diabetes model group, Th2 cells were induced, suggesting that humoral immunity was more markedly enhanced than cell-mediated immunity in this group. This study demonstrated a marked difference of Th1/Th2 cytokine balance in the pancreas between the type 1 and 2 diabetes models.

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Food habits during infancy may affect salt intake in adulthood. Therefore it is important to determine dietary salt intake in normal infants, for which estimation based on urinary sodium excretion can be regarded as the gold standard. Accurate estimation of 24-hour urine volume is a prerequisite of this method. Therefore, we used this method to collect 24-hour urine and estimated the 24-hour urine volume in healthy infants. We collected overnight urine and 24-hour urine from healthy infants aged 3 to 5 years in Miyagi prefecture, Japan, three times from February to December, 2003, and once in 2005. In the latter examination, we modified the method so as to encourage infants to cooperate. Means were compared by analysis of variance and multiple. Differences between means were considered significant at p<0.05. We used data from 237 infants. Volumes of overnight urine and 24-hour urine were higher in measurements conducted in 2005 than in 2003, although there was no difference between the sexes. The difference in 24-hour urine volume between 2003 and 2005 was likely due to the loss of urine in 2003, which was overcome by the methodological improvement in 2005. The correlation coefficient between overnight urine volume and 24-hour urine volume was not very high (r<0.60). The correlation coefficient between 24-hour urine volume and parameters such as age, body height and body mass was significant (p<0.001) but not very high (r<0.26). The overnight urine volume, 24-hour urine volume and 24-hour urine volume per body height were estimated to be 165 mL/d, 533 mL/d and 518 mL/m/d in the present study.

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