Food Consumption Structures for Three Meals and Snacks of Housewives in Agricultural and Fishery Districts

Abstract

To elucidate the food intake structures of three meals, i.e., breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and also snacks between meals, we conducted nutrition surveys on 62 females living in Nakano-city (agricultural district) and 50 females living in Shirahama-town (fishery district). By means of descriptive statistical methods and factor analysis using 23 food group data for each meal, the main results obtained are as follows. 1. Nakano-city had higher mean values of rice, miso, and other vegetables, though these of confectioneries, fruits, seaweeds, and fishes were significantly higher in Shirahama-town. 2. Rice, bread, and eggs were mostly consumed at breakfast. By means of factor analysis, the first factor extracted is positively related to the intakes of rice, miso, pulses, and other vegetables, i.e., the "gtraditional food pattern", while the factor is negatively related to bread, oil and fats, fruits, milk and its products, i.e., the?"modern food pattern". 3. The first factor in lunch foods is almost the same as that in breakfast. The second factor is related to noodles and side dishes with positive loadings, and rice and miso with negative values. It is found that the difference of the second factor score is statistically signinif icant between the two districts. 4. At dinner, Rice, noodles, meats, and fishes are more comsumed but bread and eggs are less than those at breakfast and lunch. The first factor is related positively to rice and negatively to noodles, and the second factor is thought to be related to side dishes. The difference of means of the first factor score between the two districts is not less than but closed to five percent level, while the difference of the second factor score had highly statistical significance. 5. The first factor for sanck foods is related to (the leftovers of) side dishes of other meals. The second factor is related to bread and confectioneries with positive factor loadings and to noodles and seaweeds with negative values. Statistically significant dif f ereces are found in both of two factor scores between two districts. 6. For total daily food intakes, the first factor is related to rice and Miso with positive high factor loadings, and bread, noodles, confectioneries, and seaweeds with netagive values. The second factor is related to the side dishes such as vegetables, pulses, fruits, and fishes. statistically significant differences were found in both of two factor scores between the two districts. 7. To be more practical and effective for the further nutrition education at community level, the food intake patterns for each meal should be taken into consideration as well as regional features.