2014 Volume 22 Issue 3 Pages 216-224
Objective: To determine differences in food classification between what school dieticians usually used (usual classification) and what they believed to be the appropriate food classification (dieticians' classification). School dieticians also provided their perceptions of the nutrients in each food group, using the three-color classification system.
Methods: Anonymous and cross-sectional questionnaires were handed out to 442 school dieticians in Tokyo and Aichi, between May October, 2012. Dieticians were asked to provide the following: demographic information, classification of food using the three-color system, a definition of each food group, and a classification of the nutrients in the three food groups. Dieticians were asked to classify 21 food items from three groups according to the usual- and dieticians' classifications. The agreement ratio between these classifications was calculated.
Results: 237 replies were received (response rate: 53.6%). The food items (ratio %) with high agreement between the usual- and the dieticians' classifications were soybean (99.5%), mushrooms (99.0%), and green bean sprouts (98.0%), and items with a low ratio were konjac (57.5%), brown seaweed (67.7%) and kelp (69.1%). For konjac, the dieticians differed in their classifications between the groups; red group - 2 (1.0%), yellow group - 27(14.0%) and green group - 82 (42.5%).
Conclusion: Using the three-color classification system, the classification by color groups usually used by dieticians for foods differed from those that they believed to be appropriate, and their understanding of the food classification system was different. This indicates that a quantitative index is needed for this classification system to function appropriately.
