Misako Kobayashi

Relationship between Self-Rated Health and Lifestyle and Food Habits in Japanese High School Students

Self-rated health (SRH), a subjective assessment of health status, is extensively used in the field of public health. It is an important and valid measure that is strongly related to morbidity, mortality, longevity and health status. Adolescence is a crucial period for the formation of health status, because health-risk behaviours (e.g., skipping breakfast) are often established during this period. In this study, we investigated the relationship of SRH with lifestyle and eating habits in Japanese high school students. In this study, 1296 students aged 16–18 years from 11 high schools in Japan participated. A questionnaire was administered to these participants that included a question on SRH, five questions on demographic characteristics, six questions on lifestyle items (e.g., wake-up time), five questions on miscellaneous health issues (e.g., anorexia), and 25 questions on food habits and attitudes towards food. We examined the differences between self-rated healthy and unhealthy groups using logistic regression analysis adjusted for gender and age. A dichotomy regression analysis was performed using a stepwise elimination method. Of the 1296 respondents, 16.7% reported feeling unhealthy, 57.7% of whom were females. The self-rated healthy group had a higher frequency of eating breakfast (odds ratio (OR): 2.13; confidence interval (CI): 1.07–4.24) and liked home meals to a greater extent (OR: 3.12; CI: 1.27–7.65) than the self-rated unhealthy group. The two groups did not differ significantly in terms of other lifestyle factors or unidentified complaints. Our results suggest that liking home meals during adolescence may lead to the development of good eating habits, i.e., eating breakfast, and better SRH.

Using Soybean Products in School Lunch for Health Education mayimprove ChildrenâÂÂs Attitude and Guardiansâ Knowledge in Kindergarten

Soybean products are healthy and an important source of vegetable protein in Japan. This study examines the effects of using soybean products at home and decreasing children’s dislike of soybean products. A quasiexperimental pre-post-test design was utilised to examine the effect of using school lunch programs to assess the consumption of soybean products. The study’s participants included 309 children (mean 4.2 ± 0.8 ages) attending kindergarten and nursery facilities. We compared the score among the 3 groups (Intervention, Comparison A and Comparison B) before and after the intervention. Children thinking about ‘respect for food’ was significantly higher in the intervention groups than the comparison group (p<0.01, p=N.S, p=N.S, by Fisher’s exact test). The improvement in knowledge about nutrition education in the intervention group and Comparison A was significantly higher than comparison B (p<0.01, p<0.01, p=N.S). Health education involving the soybeans program may lead to an increase in thinking about ‘respect for food’ among kindergarten children and an increase giving knowledge in their guardians.

A Retrospective Study on the Relationship of Changes in Likes/Dislikes with Food Habits in 4- and 6-Year-Old Children

Objective: This is a retrospective cohort study to investigate children’s food habits, affecting changing their likes/dislikes, on the basis of questionnaires answered by the mothers of 222 children. Methods: The questionnaire data was analyzed on 4 years old children at the beginning of the first year of kindergarten and on the same children at the end of the second year, when they were 6 years old. The questionnaire included 18 questions regarding their children’s lifestyle, likes/dislikes, attitude toward foods and guardian’s food habits. The Kruskal Wallis test was performed to compare the ordered categorical outcomes among four groups of changes in likes/dislikes: “(+) to (−)” means that the children disliked some foods as 4 year olds, and that as 6 year olds they disliked no foods, “(+) to (+)”, “(−) to (+)”, and “(−) to (−)”. Results: In total, 71.0% results reported (+) to (+), 10.0% reported (+) to (−), 6.5% Original Research Article European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety, 4(4): 604-613, 2014 605 reported (−) to (+) and 12.5% reported (-) to (-). Among the four groups, “Respect for food” (p<0.001), “Enjoying school lunches” (p<0.01), and “Family’s deviated food habits” (p<0.01) significantly varied. Children in the “(+) to (−)” group showed significantly more favorite behaviors than in the “(+) to (+)”. Conclusion: Changes in children’s likes/dislikes during kindergarten 2 years’ course may be related to “Respect for food”, “Enjoying school lunch” and “Family’s deviated food habits”. Therefore, managing these habits may be important when trying to change children’s likes/dislikes.