We executed an investigation regarding traditional food and regional cuisine. The subjects were 430 females in Aso. We classified the subjects into three groups: younger than 40 years, 50-60 years, and older than 70 years.
The results indicated that they experienced many annual events compared with the Japanese average. With respect to the regional cuisine of Aso, people older than 50 years had more experience cooking regional cuisine than did people younger than 40 years.
These results suggest that it is difficult for the younger generation to inherit traditional food and regional cuisine from the older generation in Aso.

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We conducted a questionnaire survey in 2010 and 2012 in the urban area of Kumamoto City and the rural community of Aso which continue to hold seasonal agricultural events. The survey focused on knowledge, experience, and special food habits pertaining to such events. In both areas, the subjects were volunteers engaged in activities pertaining to food and nutrition; 136 subjects in Kumamoto and 168 subjects in Aso were surveyed. The survey covered a total of 15 annual events, including Shogatu, Sekku, and Tanabata.
In both areas, over 90% of subjects had knowledge and experience regarding these events. Compared with other events, low levels of knowledge and experience regarding the Spring Festival and the Autumn Festival were observed and there were no differences between Kumamoto and Aso in this regard. Events connected with rice farming have decreased because farmers have aged and decreased in number. Consequently, it has been difficult to hand down foods prepared at annual events. Subjects in Aso had more experience preparing event foods by themselves compared with in Kumamoto. It was determined that there are a larger number of three-generation families in Aso compared with in Kumamoto. This result demonstrates that it is easy for children to inherit special food habits from their elders.

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In the present study, we defined staple grain foods (except for pastries), soups, protein-rich main dishes, and vegetable side dishes served at breakfast, lunch, and supper as meal foods, and other miscellaneous items as discretionary foods. We investigated the consumption of discretionary foods among female students and their mothers. We observed that discretionary foods accounted for 20.1% and 26.9% of the total daily energy intake of the examined students and their mothers, respectively. Moreover, we found that as the subjects' age increased, discretionary foods were more frequently consumed at meal times rather than at other times, and the increased consumption of such foods had a negative impact on their overall food intake or dietary balance. Based on these findings, we recommend that middle-aged women should ‘reduce the frequency of discretionary foods from four to three times per day’, and that, because of their tendency to use more salt, sugar, and other seasonings in their food, those who consume sweetened discretionary foods prior to meal preparation need to rinse their mouths before seasoning foods.

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