2.1. Participants
obesity, hyperlipidemia, allergy, claustrophobia, diabetes
OBESITY, RESPIRATORY DISEASE, HEART DISEASE, KIDNEY DISEASE, HYPERLIPIDEMIA, ALLERGY, DIABETES, COLDS, ENDOCRINE DISEASE
Participants were Japanese men and women between the ages of 20 and 65 years at the time of consent, who satisfied the inclusion criteria, did not satisfy any of the exclusion criteria and were deemed eligible to participate by the principal investigator. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) BMI of 23 or higher and less than 30 at the screening test; (2) able to abstain from alcohol for 2 days before each measurement; and (3) fully informed of the purpose and content of the study, deemed to have the capacity to consent, volunteered of their own accord to participate in the study based on a thorough understanding of the purpose and content of the study and provided written informed consent to participate in the study. Exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) regularly taking medications that affect obesity, hyperlipidemia or lipid metabolism; (2) treatment for severe kidney disease, heart disease, respiratory disease, endocrine disease, diabetes or other illness (excluding transient illnesses such as colds); (3) unable to stop intake of health foods or supplements that affect obesity, hyperlipidemia or lipid metabolism; (4) unable to restrict the intake of foods that might affect the intestinal microbiota; (5) use of antibiotics within 1 month prior to the start of the study; (6) regularly use intestinal drugs and laxatives (including strong laxatives); (7) history of digestive surgery (excluding appendectomy); (8) history of allergy to any of the study food ingredients; (9) current or former drug or alcohol dependence; (10) presence of metal (e.g., surgical implants) that precludes computed tomography (CT) scans of the measurement site; (11) implanted medical devices such as cardiac pacemakers and cardioverter-defibrillators; (12) claustrophobia; (13) pregnant or lactating, or expecting to become pregnant during the study; (14) participation in research involving the ingestion of other foods or the use of pharmaceuticals, the application of cosmetics or pharmaceuticals or participation in other research while participating in this study; and (15) deemed ineligible by the principal investigator.