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To examine the influence of season and climate (air temperature and humidity) on water intake by the food group in a sample of free-living Japanese adults.Four-nonconsecutive-day, semi-weighed dietary records were collected from each of the four seasons in a single 12-month period (16 days in total). The influence of season and climate on individual water intake by the food group was analyzed using a mixed linear model. Participants were 242 healthy adults (121 women aged 30-69 years and 121 men aged 30-76 years) from four areas in Japan.For women and men together, the mean total water intake was 2230 g/day (highest in summer: 2331 g/day; lowest in winter: 2134 g/day). Fifty-one percent of water was derived from foods and the rest from beverages. In a mixed linear model adjusted for sex, age and body mass index, intake of water from foods decreased by 3.1 g/day and that from beverages increased by 8.4 g/day, with an increase in the mean outdoor air temperature on the survey day of 1 °C (both P0.0001). The influence of humidity was nonsignificant.In contrast to previous findings in Western countries, half of water intake in Japanese adults was derived from foods. Water intake from beverages was positively associated with air temperature, whereas that from foods was inversely associated with air temperature.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Vegetable intake during childhood may reduce the risk of subsequent asthma. We verified the effect of maternal intake during pregnancy on asthma risk in offspring, which has rarely been studied. SUBJECTS/METHODS In a hospital-based birth cohort study conducted in Tokyo, we administered a food frequency questionnaire at two periods during the respondents' pregnancy: early and mid to late periods. In addition, a questionnaire including the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire was conducted when the offspring were 2 years old. Multivariate Poisson regression adjusting for maternal baseline demographics was used to elucidate the association between maternal vegetable intake and the incidence of wheeze in the offspring. RESULTS Among 310 singletons, 82 (26.5%) experienced wheeze at 2 years of age. Women with the highest intake of cruciferous, and folate-rich vegetables during early pregnancy reported a significantly lower prevalence of wheeze in their child at 2 years of age in comparison with those who reported the lowest intake (adjusted risk ratio: 0.48 and 0.47, 95% confidence interval: 0.26-0.89, and 0.25-0.87, respectively). In trend analysis, a higher maternal intake of cruciferous, folate-rich vegetables, and total vegetables during early pregnancy was less likely to be associated with wheeze in the offspring at 2 years old (p for trend: 0.038