Research Article
Frequent Nutritional Intervention to Encourage Consumption of Traditional Vegetables in Japanese with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Greatly Increased Vegetable Intake and Reduced BMI: A Six-Month Trial Study
Yukiko Kobayashi, Yuka Ueda, Yuki
Sumi, Hina Tatsumi, Yukiko Sasai, Hiroki
Sugiyama, Sayori Wada, Wataru Aoi, Koji
Shirota, Michiyo Tani, Yoshiaki Shizukawa,
Yuya Seko, Yoshio Sumida, Yuji Naito,
Masashi Kuwahata
Correspondence Address :
Yukiko Kobayashi
Laboratory of Nutrition Science
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences
Kyoto Prefectural University
Shimogamo, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8522,
Japan
Tel: +81-75-703-6017
Email: yukicoba@kpu.ac.jp
Received on: February 28, 2018, Accepted on: March 08, 2018, Published on: March 15, 2018
Citation: Yukiko Kobayashi, Yuka Ueda, Yuki Sumi, et al. (2018) Frequent Nutritional Intervention to Encourage Consumption of Traditional
Vegetables in Japanese with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Greatly Increased Vegetable Intake and Reduced BMI: A Six-Month Trial
Study
Copyright: 2018 Yukiko Kobayashi et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background/purpose: In the present study, a method of frequently sending small amounts of vegetables to patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was selected to encourage continuation of dietary treatment. Furthermore, the hypothesis that frequent receipt of traditional vegetables known to have a high scarcity value would have a strong impact that results in an actual increase in vegetable consumption was tested.
Methods: Twenty NAFLD patients were divided into two groups: Group A, which received seasonal vegetables including traditional vegetables about twice a month to their home, half of the time accompanied by a newsletter containing information about vegetables and a body weight record sheet; and Group B, which did not. All subjects were given nutritional counseling at the start of the intervention (baseline) and during doctors' visits about once every three months. Subjects were asked to submit meal records and photos for two days to evaluate nutrient intakes at baseline and after 3 and 6 months of intervention. Blood tests and BMI were also followed.
Results: The mean age of the subjects was 58.5 +/- 10.3 years. In Group A, total vegetable intake was significantly higher after three months and six months compared to baseline, which led to a body weight reduction.
Conclusion: The effects on NAFLD patients of carrying out a unique nutritional intervention of frequently providing them with vegetables with a high scarcity value that leave a strong impression, in addition to their doctors' visits and nutritional counseling, were assessed, and this method promoted a decrease in body weight
Keywords: NAFLD, Weight loss, Nutritional interventions, Vegetable intake, Traditional vegetables, dietary intakes, Japanese