Development of New Method for Improvement of Eating Habit

—The Approach from Taste Education—

Abstract

The basic law on dietary education was enacted due to some problems connected with “eating", such as unbalanced diet, unsystematically meal, obesity, and lifestyle-related disease, and so on. Ever since, several programs for dietary education has been tried at educational institutions. Also, in order to promote dietary education effectively, various methods have been studied at many kinds of research institutes.

We have studied about the application of taste-modifying plants to food for many years. Taste-modification is the function changing taste by affecting taste buds, for example, you feel it tastes sweet even though it’s acidic, or you don’t feel any sweet taste.

We see this function as a temporary taste disorder. And we consider that people realized an importance of taste and appreciated sensing taste, then they will pay attention to eating habit by simulated experience of taste disorder. Therefore, as a method to promote dietary education effectively, we tried an approach from the taste education.

First, we conducted a survey of elementary school pupils to verify a validity of new method. As a result, there was a correlation between the interest of “eating” and the awareness of “taste”. And after the taste education class, interest level of “eating” has increased. Moreover, the awareness of “eating” changed from “feeling of fullness”, “visual effects”, “price” to “nutrition”, “health”, “atmosphere during a meal”.

These results show that elementary school pupils increased their awareness of eating by “Taste Education”, and they started to think of getting balanced nutrition for healthy body to enjoy meal. That is to say, it suggested “Taste Education” is an effective method to improve a dietary habit.