Intake of a Japanese-Style Healthy Lunch Has Possibilities of Contributing to the Normalization of Serum Lipids and Adipokines: A Non-Randomized Controlled Trial Pilot Study

To date, the incidence of metabolic syndrome has been increasing continuously worldwide; and recently, low vegetable consumption has become a major issue of concern in Japan. Furthermore, Japan is facing a shortfall in places offering food that can help prevent metabolic syndrome. Our study was designed to determine the influence of an on-going healthy lunch on metabolic syndrome outcomes (blood pressure, serum TNF-alpha, IL-6, serum lipids) in adult middle-aged office male workers, in Japan. We conducted a non-randomized controlled trial among 38 middle-aged office male workers (control group: 7 males, intervention group: 31 males) with mostly low levels of physical activity, by providing a Japanese-style healthy lunch for 3 months (intervention group) at a workplace cafeteria. The control group consumed their habitual lunches without restriction and only the nutrient contents were assessed. Furthermore, the intervention group was divided into two (non-metabolic [non-MS] and metabolic syndrome [MS] groups) for analysis. Overall 38 males with a mean age of 47.2 ± 7.9 years were included. Abdominal circumference level (p<0.05), systolic and diastolic (p<0.05) blood pressure (p<0.01), as well as serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL-Chol), serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) (p<0.001) and interleukin (IL-6) (p<0.01) decreased significantly after intervention compared with the baseline in the intervention/non-MS group and intervention/MS groups. Furthermore, ghrelin (p<0.001) and desacyl ghrelin (p<0.05) increased significantly after intervention compared with the baseline in the intervention/non-MS group and intervention/MS groups. These showed an effective outcome, demonstrated by the ongoing intake of a Japanese-style healthy lunch, of decreased blood pressure, serum TNF-α, IL-6, serum LDL-Chol and total cholesterol. This study presents new empirical data based on an original intervention program showing that the consumption of a Japanese-style healthy lunch containing many vegetables can help prevent and/or improve metabolic syndrome. The findings of this study could also lead to the opportunity for participants to practice following healthy menus at home. We therefore consider that this is valuable in promoting improvement in diet in the food environment at the workplace.