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Background: The study aimed to investigate the association between daily consumption of coffee or green tea, with and without habitual bread consumption for breakfast, and components and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Japanese populations., Methods: The study population consisted of 3539 participants (1239 males and 2300 females). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using logistic regression analyses to evaluate the associations of daily coffee and green tea consumption with the prevalence of obesity, visceral obesity, and metabolic syndrome., Results: Coffee consumption was associated with significantly lower proportions of visceral obesity (OR: 0.746, CI: 0.588-0.947) and metabolic syndrome (OR: 0.706, CI: 0.565-0.882). On the other hand, green tea was not associated with visceral obesity (OR: 1.105, CI: 0.885-1.380) or metabolic syndrome (OR: 0.980, CI: 0.796-1.206). The combination of daily drinking coffee and eating bread at breakfast time was associated with significantly lower proportions of obesity (OR: 0.613, CI: 0.500-0.751) ( p = 0.911 for interaction), visceral obesity (OR: 0.549, CI: 0.425-0.710) ( p = 0.991 for interaction), and metabolic syndrome (OR: 0.586, CI: 0.464-0.741) ( p = 0.792 for interaction)., Conclusion: Coffee consumption was significantly associated with lower visceral adipose tissue and lower proportions of visceral obesity, but the same was not true for green tea consumption. Furthermore, in combination with coffee consumption, the addition of eating bread at breakfast time significantly lowered proportions of visceral obesity and metabolic syndrome, although there was no interaction between coffee and bread.

Background: Reducing body weight and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) are the primary goals for maintaining health in obese individuals as compared to those of normal weight, but it is also important to maintain physical fitness for a healthy life after weight-loss. Acceleration training (AT) has recently been indicated as an alternative to resistance training for elite athletes and also as a component of preventive medicine. However, it is unclear whether combining AT with a weight-loss diet will improve physical fitness in obese individuals. The present study aimed to determine the synergistic effects of AT on body composition and physical fitness with weight-loss program in overweight and obese women., Methods: Twenty-eight obese, middle-aged women were divided into two groups as follows: diet and aerobic exercise group (DA; BMI: 29.3 ± 3.0 kg/m2); and diet, aerobic exercise and acceleration training group (DAA; BMI: 31.2 ± 4.0 kg/m2). Both groups included a 12-week weight-loss program. Body composition, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area and physical fitness (hand grip, side-to-side steps, single-leg balance with eyes closed, sit-and-reach and maximal oxygen uptake) were measured before and after the program., Result: Body weight, BMI, waist circumference and VAT area decreased significantly in both groups. Hand grip (2.1 ± 3.0 kg), single-leg balance (11.0 ± 15.4 s) and sit-and-reach (6.5 ± 4.8 cm) improved significantly only in the DAA group., Conclusions: Our findings indicate that combining AT with classical lifestyle modifications is effective at reducing VAT, and it may enhance muscle strength and performance in overweight and obese women., (© 2014 Asian Oceanian Association for the Study of Obesity . Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this study was to determine whether age influences the relationship between alcohol drinking and obesity. Japanese men receiving periodic health checkups (20-70 years old, n = 36,121) were divided into non-, light (<22 g ethanol/day), moderate (≥22 and <44 g ethanol/day), and heavy (≥44 g ethanol/day) drinkers. Relationships between alcohol intake and obesity-related indices were compared among the quartiles of age. BMI was lower in light and moderate drinkers than in nondrinkers, and these differences were more prominent in the 1st and 2nd quartiles of age than in the higher quartiles. In the 1st and 2nd quartiles of age, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio were significantly smaller and lower, respectively, in light and moderate drinkers than in nondrinkers, and these differences were less prominent in the 3rd quartile and were not found in the 4th quartile. In the 1st and 2nd quartiles of age, odds ratios vs. nondrinkers for large waist circumference were significantly low (P < 0.01) in light drinkers (1st quartile: 0.64 (0.54-0.75); 2nd quartile: 0.69 (0.60-0.80)) and moderate drinkers (1st quartile: 0.69 (0.61-0.78); 2nd quartile: 0.84 (0.76-0.93)), whereas the odds ratio was significantly low (P < 0.05) only in light drinkers in the 3rd quartile (0.84 (0.73-0.97)) and was not significant in any drinker groups of the 4th quartile. The results suggest that alcohol consumption is associated with lower risk of obesity in Japanese men and this association is more prominent in younger men than in older men.