2016 Volume 67 Issue 9 Pages 513-525
This study reveals the preference by nursery school children for milk, cheese and yogurt and the awareness of the importance in parents or guardians (n＝588) to providing dairy products in their diet. We performed a factor analysis on the image of milk, cheese and yogurt, and identified the following four factors: good taste, high functional nutrition, harmony with Japanese-style food, and a feeling of high calorific value. We investigated the calcium intake from milk, cheese, and yogurt by nursery school children aged 3 to 5 years (n＝648) and clarified the influence of the parents or guardians on the calcium intake by the nursery school children. The factor of good taste was high for yogurt and that of high functional nutrition was high for all three dairy products. Many parents or guardians expressed no particular awareness for the provision of milk, cheese and yogurt although the children's milk or yogurt intake was high when 1) the parents or guardians liked milk or yogurt; 2) they had a positive awareness regarding milk, cheese and yogurt; and 3) they scored highly on the factors of good taste and high functional nutrition.
