Survey in Dietary Habits of Elementary, Middle, and High School Students during School Closures to Prevent COVID-19 Infection : Challenges of Dietary Education in Schools

Abstract

We surveyed children enrolled in elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools in Osaka City, Japan, to determine the changes in children’s dietary habits caused by COVID-19 and the closure of schools to prevent its spread and to make comparisons by school type, gender, and dietary awareness. Compared with the group with low dietary awareness, the group with high dietary awareness, whose members chose to “eat a well-balanced diet” to prevent infectious diseases, showed generally better results with respect to the items they paid special attention to in their diet during school holidays, changes in their dietary habits, food preparation practices, and health status. Dietary awareness declined as students progressed from elementary school to middle school and high school, suggesting a link between the decline in opportunities for dietary education and the decline in dietary awareness as school years progress. Future issues for dietary education in schools include the promotion of dietary education in high schools.