Reflection about Japanese immigration to Brazil under the light of body adiposity

Migrant populations represent a good opportunity to investigate the role of environmental factors for the genesis of obesity and its comorbidities. The Japanese-Brazilian Diabetes Study Group studied the prevalence of diabetes and related disorders in Japanese-Brazilians from Bauru, SP, in 1993. Using specific criteria for Asian, 22.4% of the Japanese-Brazilians were found as having overweight in this first phase of the study. In the second phase, in 2000, this prevalence increased to 44.2% and 50.3% had central obesity. This population also had high prevalence of type 2 diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia, components of the metabolic syndrome. The JBDS Group also showed the association between Occidentalized habits, mainly a rich saturated-fat-diet, and the occurrence of the metabolic syndrome. In 2005, motivated by these findings, the JBDS Group started the third phase of the study which was an intervention program based on healthy diet and physical activity recommendations, using resources that could be feasible in terms of public health in Brazil. After one year-intervention program, the JBDS Group observed a decrease in anthropometric parameters, blood pressure and plasma glucose and cholesterol levels. It will be necessary a longer follow-up to evaluate the maintainance of these benefits and their impact in the risk development of diabetes and cardiovascular events.