Exploring the Relationship Between Dietary Habits and Perceptions of Mental and Physical Disorders, or a Sense of Accomplishment in Japan.

Background: Japanese dietary patterns have traditionally focused on vegetables, legumes, and fish; however, in the last few quarters of the century, the consumption of meat, processed food, and ultra-processed food has become popular. It is anticipated that these changes in the Japanese dietary environment will increase the risk of developing psychosomatic disorders.

Methods: In this study, we examined the relationship between dietary habits, psychosomatic disorders, and a sense of achievement. For men and women aged 20-80 years (n = 851) living in and around Ebetsu City, Hokkaido, Japan, a questionnaire on dietary habits over the past year, including mental and physical stress and a sense of achievement, was administered. The associations between dietary habits and psychosomatic disorders or a sense of achievement were analyzed using logistic regression (n = 654).

Results: The associations between dietary habits and psychosomatic disorders differ depending on sex and age. We found that subjects who consumed more processed meat and ultra-processed food reported more psychosomatic disorders. On the other hand, those who perceived a sense of achievement consumed higher amounts of vegetables, albeit with a lower fish intake.

Conclusions: In this study, we demonstrated that dietary habits and food ingredients are associated with mental and physical stress and a sense of achievement. Fish, which is considered to be good for the body, was mostly consumed by subjects who experienced mental and physical stress. These data indicate that highly stressful conditions may encourage fish consumption, as the body needs to mitigate psychosomatic disorders.