Frequency of meals that includes staple, main and side dishes and nutrient intake: findings from the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey, Japan.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between nutrient intake and a straightforward Japanese nutritional goal of consuming a meal that includes staple, main and side dishes (SMS meal) more than twice a day.

Design: This was a cross-sectional, observational study using the data from de-identified records of the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey. Dietary assessment was conducted using semi-weighed dietary records that were completed on one weekday.

Estimation of food portion sizes frequently consumed by children 3-6 years old in Japan.

No study has documented Japanese children's food portion sizes. Since this information is essential to establish valid measurement tools and effective education methods for dietary intake, we measured them using one-day, semi-weighed diet records (DRs) for 489 Japanese children aged 3-6 y. Each food's frequency of appearance on the DRs was counted.

Variables of the Theory of Planned Behavior are associated with family meal frequency among adolescents.

Objective: To examine associations between Theory of Planned Behavior variables and the family meal frequency.

Methods: Fifth-through seventh-grade students (n = 236) completed a self-administered questionnaire in their classrooms. The relationships between Theory of Planned Behavior variables (intention, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control) and family meal frequency were examined with Spearman correlations and multiple logistic regression analysis.

Changes in body mass index among Tongan adults in urban and rural areas between the 1970s and 2000s.

The purpose of this study was to determine trends in body physique among Tongan adults, between the late 1970s and the 2000s. Two areas were studied: Kolofo'ou town (as an urban area) and 'Uiha village (as a rural area). Measurements of body weight and height were taken 4 times for all residents in both areas in 1977/79, 1983, 1990, and 2001.

A web-based training system for elevating nursing students' risk sensitivity.

On-site training through role plays and the use of audio-visual resources has been effective to enhance nurses' capacity to foresee potential risks. Nevertheless, reports on accidents by nursing students or novice nurses continue to exist. This paper proposes a web-based training system as a new teaching strategy for elevating nursing students'risk sensitivity.

Theories of nutrition education and promotion in Japan: enactment of the "Food Education Basic Law".

The objective of this paper was to identify the necessity of a theory incorporating "a holistic view of food and nutrition dynamics". The generation of this theory and its potential to effect nutrition education practices, was also examined using examples of practice in Japan. The necessity and potential of a nutrition theory with "a holistic view of food and nutrition dynamics" was shown through discussions about the "Food Education Basic Law" (The Basic Law on Shokuiku) enacted in 2005 in Japan and the following case examples: a study of daily fish consumption of 2,110 school children in Japan from the viewpoint of human and food ecology; a study of school children's eating habits with their families which involved drawing a meal picture; a nutrition intervention that used a 5 point meal box system (3:1:2 meal box magic) to measure the quantity and quality appropriate for one meal; and a nutrition education program for school-aged children.

[Processes of sharing issues among participating groups in the form of a food and nutrition education network: the case of the "S Network"].

Objective: To review processes of sharing issues among participating groups in the form of a food and nutrition education network and elucidate how organizations develop commitment and how individuals change their attitudes.

Methods: (1) Process regarding the form of a food and nutrition education network: After discussions by administrative public health nutritionists at public health centers and meetings with faculty members at J University, we encouraged three groups to participate in a network to share information on food and nutrition issues and gave them opportunities to interact with each other. Group A primarily provided food and nutrition information, group B primarily provided foods, and group C provided both.