Japanese perspective on reduction in lifestyle disease risk in immigrant Japanese Brazilians: A double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention study on palatinose

1. Nine male Japanese immigrants living in Brazil who had been exposed to risk factors for lifestyle-related diseases, such as excess sugar intake, were tested using a cross-over design for hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia for 2 h after an oral loading of sucrose (S; 50 g) or palatinose sugar (PS; 50 g; containing palatinose and sucrose in a ratio of 9 : 1). 2. Thirty male Japanese immigrants were randomized to a double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention study and given S or PS for daily use for 16 weeks. Then, on the basis of the World Health Organization CARDIAC study protocol, blood pressure measurements, laboratory tests on fasting blood samples and visceral fat examination by computed tomography were undertaken in these subjects. 3. Glycaemic and insulinaemic responses were suppressed significantly more 30 min and 1 h, respectively, after oral loading of PS compared with S. 4. The PS group showed significant (P < 0.05) decreases in visceral fat and systolic and diastolic blood pressure from baseline and a trend towards the reduction of visceral fat compared with the S group, although the difference did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.06). 5. Therefore, PS is expected to contribute to the prevention of metabolic syndrome.