[The third function (regulation of physiological function) of food for prevention of lifestyle-related diseases--close linkage to clinical examination].

It is well known that lifestyle-related diseases are closely related with not only environmental factors but also genetic factors. In addition, chronic lifestyle-related diseases, namely malignant neoplasm, cardiovascular diseases and cerebro-vascular diseases are the top three among the leading causes of death, and account for approximately 60% of mortality in Japan. Moreover, it is seriously concerned that dysregulation of adipokine secretion induced by visceral fat accumulation causes the clustering of various lifestyle-related diseases, followed by a marked increase in group with a high risk of contracting metabolic syndrome. Accordingly, it is an important issue to promote effective clinical examinations and health guidance with a focus on the prevention of metabolic syndrome including lifestyle-related diseases. In this review, I refer to 1) overview of lifestyle-related diseases such as hypertension, lipid metabolism disorders and diabetes, and metabolic syndrome in the national health and nutrition survey in Japan 2007, 2) useful clinical items for prevention of metabolic syndrome and those significances, 3) food for special dietary uses (FOSDU) and food with health claims (FHC) including food for specified health uses (FOSHU) and food with nutrient function claims (FNFC), 4) daily food or its functional component which may exert effective action such as hypolipidemic effect, and 5) prospects of clinical examination and study of food function. In conclusion, for prevention of lifestyle-related diseases, close relationship and mutual cooperation between clinical examination and food function study will be much more necessary in the future, which will contribute to the promotion of special health checkups and healthcare guidance focused on the prevention of metabolic syndrome.