Four hundred and twenty-one subjects, who were either farmers, fishermen or stonecutters, participated in the nutrient survey. They were 236 males and 185 females, aged from 40 to 59. Nutrient intakes and food consumption structures analysed by means of the questionnaire were compared among the 3 different occupations. In men, the intakes of the rice and soy bean products were statistically significantly larger in the farmers, the fishes larger in the fishermen and the cakes larger in the stonecutters than in any other occupation groups, respectively. In women, the intake of the rice was significantly larger in the farmers and the fats and the oils larger in the fishermen than in any other groups, respectively. The deficiency of the intakes of the fats, calcium, iron and vitamines (A, B1, B2 and C) was observed in all 3 groups, and particularly the fat-energic ratio was as small as 16.6%. The average amount of daily salt intake was 16.0g for men and 15.7g for women, which were approximately 4g above the average amount of the daily salt intake in Japanese. Percentage of recommend dietary allowance was identical among the 3 groups in men, while it was significantly lower in female stone-cutters than in other 2 groups. In men, the protein-energic, the fat-energic and animal protein ratios were significantly larger in the fishermen than in the farmers but not different from those in the stone-cutters. On the other hand, in women, the cereal caloric ratio was larger in the farmers than in other 2 groups and the fat-energic ratio was larger in the fishermen than in the farmers. In conclusion, the food consumption pattern of the stone-cutter group was relatively modern as compared with those of other 2 groups. (Journal of Health Science Kyushu University. 9: 7-14, 1987
