Abstract
This study aims to examine nutrition education that can be provided to mothers of pre-school children in order to prevent early development of lifestyle-related diseases. The “Food Guide Spinning Top" was used to analyze the diets of eight mothers and their children (n=8) as well as provide nutrition education to the mothers. We found that both the mothers and children tended to have less breakfast, consume a higher proportion of main dishes, and have heavy dinners. We then conducted a group nutrition education program for twenty mothers, during which fourteen (70%) prepared a well-balanced menu. We then administered a questionnaire regarding diet issues, targeting the mothers from the education program. Seventeen of the mothers answered the questionnaire (collection rate; 85%). From the responses obtained, we assessed whether they understood the optimum intake for their family and had learned how to prepare a well-balanced menu. All of the mothers reported that the nutrition education program was useful. However, half answered that they still overate, and one-third answered that they still could not determine the correct dietary balance. Therefore, we propose to conduct a behavioral science-based nutrition education program teaching behavioral change skills( self-monitoring) to help them follow a healthy diet every day.
