Status of Dietary Education Provided by Nutrition Teachers for Different Subject: Conclusions from the Hiroshima Prefecture Dietary Education Implementation Survey

Abstract

With the aim of obtaining basic data for establishing a dietary education curriculum, we analyzed findings from the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education’s “Dietary Education Implementation Survey”. The results revealed that in elementary schools, dietary education by nutrition teachers was performed mainly in “special activities” and “living environment studies” classes for 1st and 2nd graders, “special activities” for 3rd and 4th graders, and “home economics” for 5th and 6th graders. Compared to other graders, 5th grader received more guidance from nutrition teachers. Moreover, there were more “home economics” and “special activities” than other subjects. Food education focused on the topics of “importance of food”, “mental and physical health”, and “ability to select foods”. Guidance on “importance of food” and “ability to select foods” was more commonly provided to 5th and 6th graders. In junior high schools, substantial guidance was provided in “technology and home economics”, and the food education curriculum included “the importance of food”, “mental and physical health” and “ability to select foods”. These results suggest that dietary education by nutrition teachers is determined to some extent based on the subject and the food education content.