Abstract
To clarify the dietary trend in New Year food, a survey was made on dietary habits during the three days of the New Year of women students. The dietary habits for last 20 years since 1978 were surveyed in respects of Zoni and other traditional Japanese dishes, using a total of 447 women's college students living in Ishikawa and its surrounding area. These subjects comprised 95 students on the roll in 1978,71 in 1984,100 in 1991 and 181 in 1997-1998. The results indicate that the New Year habit of eating Zoni still continues, however, it is not now eaten on all days of the New Year, although such a habit was common for most people in the past. The mean number of individuals eating Osechi was found to be decreasing, although almost all responders ate Osechi at least once during the three days. There was a decrease in the frequency of eating such dishes on the second and the third days compared with that on the first day. These results suggest that the traditional custom of eating Zoni and Osechi dishes would be gradually lost in future, but that the habit would continue merely in their ceremonious eating on the first day of the New Year.
