The authors have carried out food consumption surveys in small communities and statistical analysis related to both health evaluation and health improvement. In these studies, many types of indices and their definitions have suggested, i. e., food consumption structure, two-dimensional spatial diagram (for person/ food), food consumption pattern, mean standard deviation model, group cohesiveness, deviation pattern similarity, and acceptability of food articles. In this study the authors gauged the practical usefulness of these dietary indices using food consumption data for 159 female subjects who were surveyed by the authors twice, in 1979 and 1989, and who were living in 5 districts of Japan: Oami-Shirasato (Chiba Prefecture), Nakai (Kanagawa Pref.), Itadori (Gifu Pref.), Ajimu (Oita Pref.), and Tsunagi (Kumamoto Pref.). The results obtained were as follows: 1) During the 10-year study period, the amount of rice intake decreased in the rural districts of Itadori, Ajimu and Tsunagi, but did not decrease in the urban areas of Oami-Shirasato and Nakai, which are in Metropolitan Tokyo. It appeared that the rice consumption of the female population in metropolitan areas had already changed before 1979, while that in rural areas was just beginning to change during this period. 2) There were different levels of acceptability of food articles among the studied districts. Nevertheless, acceptability of rice continued to be constantly positive, whereas milk, the consumption of which had increased very much during this period, garnered only negative acceptability as a daily food; it was still seen as a favorite beverage, like juice or soda. 3) Food pattern plotted as a two-dimensional spatial diagram (for individual persons) was able to clearly delineate rural and metropolitan areas. Rural districts showed movement towards modern food patterns, while metropolitan districts showed movement towards easy/fast cooking patterns. 4) Deviation pattern similarity was able to show clearly chronological changes in the food intake patterns of each individual. It was evident that these patterns in the three rural districts and those in Oami-Shirasato changed considerably, while the patterns for subjects in Nakai did not change, during the study period. The above results confirmed the usefulness of our food consumption analyses, and changing food patterns among Japanese women were clearly identified.
