Abstract
Objective: In order to evaluate the appropriate application of “the dietary reference intakes for Japanese, 2010” (DRIs-J-2010) in specific food service facilities, local governments in Japan asked these facilities to submit a nutrition management report. In the DRIs-J-2010, nutrition management based on the Plan-Do-Check-Action cycle (PDCA) is suggested as a fundamental theory for application of the DRIs-J-2010 by service facilities. In order to confirm the current state of the application of the DRIs-J-2010 in food service facilities, we investigated whether the present practice of nutrition management based on the fundamental theory was encompassed by the file formats of the nutrition management report.
Methods: The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare asked all 114 local Japanese governments (prefectures as well as cities and special wards with public health centers) to submit the nutrition management file formats in March-April 2010. The “hospital and facility” file format was submitted by 87 local governments and the “office” file format was submitted by 86 local governments. We collected survey items related to “assessing the characteristics of target groups,” “assessing the physiological aspects and dietary intakes of target groups,” and “meal planning and evaluation of the implementation of the plan” from the submitted file formats.
Results: Neither the number of people in the food service target group nor their characteristics (sex, age, physical activity level)—items necessary for “assessing the characteristics of target groups”—were confirmed by 2.3% of local governments submitting either the “hospital and facility” or “office” file format. With regards to the necessary survey items concerning “assessing the physiological aspects and dietary intakes of target groups,” more than half of the local governments submitting the “hospital and facility” file format confirmed only height and weight. With regards to the necessary survey items concerning “meal planning and evaluation of the implementation of the plan,” approximately 95% of the local governments submitting either the “hospital and facility” or “office” file formats confirmed the food service target energy and nutrients, while approximately 11.5% of the local governments submitting either the “hospital and facility” or “office” file format confirmed the dietary intake.
Conclusion: In the submitted nutrition management file formats, limited survey items were available to evaluate the meal planning and the dietary intakes of the target groups. A file format for these nutrition management reports that is in line with the procedures for nutrition management carried out by food service facilities is required.
