Importance of food education for the development of children’s chewing ability

Abstract

　In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey on 108 mothers of 6-8-year-old children that focused on full-chewing from a dental and oral health perspective. The chewing habits of children, the degree of recognition of chewing effect, and levels of practice or motivation to practice cooking activities and education that promotes good chewing habits were investigated. Overall, 17.6% of mothers reported that their children had good chewing habits. In terms of degree of recognition of 8 chewing effects, "brain development” and "prevention of obesity” were recognized by more than 60% of respondents, and "prevention of dental diseases” was recognized by approximately 50% of respondents; however, the recognition rate for other effects was relatively low. Although the rates for practicing cooking and education to promote good chewing habits were 30.6% at the beginning of the survey, the rate increased to 62% after answering questionnaires and recognizing the effects of chewing. The mean number of chewing effects recognized by mothers who practiced both cooking and education to promote good chewing habits was significantly higher than those who practiced neither activity. In total, 62.9% of mothers would like their child’s school to educate them in full-chewing techniques. On the other hand, 36.1% of mothers did not know whether their child’s school was actually conducting full-chewing education. These results indicate that if schools can provide desirable levels of chewing education and information as part of food education for children and their parents, parents will show an increased interest in educating their children about good chewing habit. Thus, children can be effectively educated about chewing at school and from their parents. Through this process, parents can also give their children taste education by preparing home-made dishes for chewing education.

　As a result, children who receive effective chewing education can pass on desirable chewing habits to the next generation.