Abstract
In order to contribute to the planning of menus and nutrition in school lunches, we investigated 193 first- and second-year female students who specialized in food and nutrition. Using a meal balance guide (Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top, JFGST), we clarified the state of their dietary behavior and studied the training methods for lunch management and also the effects of the education. The number of 'servings (SVs)' ingested during a holiday was lower than that on a weekday. The fully prepared meal, such as a combination of grain dishes, fish and meat dishes, and vegetable dishes in each meal was 68%, and the lack of prudence was conspicuous. As for the style of the lunch, 70% of the students were in the lunch box group and 30% were in the eating-out group. Although the number of SVs of the JFGST was higher in the lunch box group than in the eating-out group, nutritional repletion was inferior in both groups. Among the students, 31% belonged to the self-cooking group (A) and 69% was in the non-cooking group (B) . It was more difficult for the B group than the A group to make a menu. For the menu planning, the main dish was decided first in both groups. Meat was mostly used for the Western-style menu (81-85%), while fish was used in the Japanese style menu (77-79%). The number of servings was significantly increased, and the target of 16-19 SVs was achieved in the lunch menu. As assessed by the students themselves and their mothers, the practiced real menu was better than the planned menu. In conclusion, a practical education to raise the self-efficacy of the students was found to be effective for the improvement and innovation of their dietary behavior.
