This study aimed at (1) investigating the correlation between dietary habits and living environment of female college students living in boarding houses and (2) probing possibilities of improving their dietary habits at the level of an individual. The study discusses the living conditions and dietary habits of the subjects, the correlation, if any, between these two factors and problems regarding their dietary life. The subjects were undergraduate and graduate students of Nara Women's University. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 239 students in April, 1994, and 199 valid responses were recovered (the recovery ratio: 67.9%). Analysis was made of 16 items related to living conditions, 14 to dietary habits and one to the students' age (total; 31 items). Additionally, Hayashi's Quantification Method III (50 items related to the students' boarding conditions) was used for grouping them into categories. The following results were obtained.
1) There were no students with financial problems in respect of their dietary life. They had kitchen utensils equivalent to those of a general household. Boarding houses were conveniently located, close to their university and food stores. The satisfaction index about boarding conditions was considerably high at 7.5±1.5 points out of 10.
2) The students showed a tendency of skipping breakfasts 1.8±2.0 times/week, which is higher than those reported in the 1993 National Nutrition Survey. They cooked meals together with other boarders 2.3±4.6 times/month on the average.
3) The students were divided into three groups based on their dietary habits and living conditions using Hayashi's Quantification Method III: those who have positive attitude toward cooking (Type A), those who rely on ready-to-serve foods frequently (Type B), and those who eat out both lunch and supper (Type C).
4) There were observed a significant correlation between the items related to meal preparations such as distance to food stores and times of food purchases and the items of frequency of taking between meal snacks and eating out. The conditions of boarding places thus seemed to be a key for improving their dietary habits.

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Texture and sensory characteristics of commercial thickening agents were studied in order to learn adequate conditions for use of thickening agents for people with swallowing difficulties. Four kinds of commercial thickening agents were used for evaluation. The agents were divided into two groups; one containing modified food starch and the other containing polysaccharides. The relationship between concentration and consistency of the agents, chronological changes of texture after addition, and influence of the main component of the solution on texture were studied. Solubility and sensory characteristics were also examined. The following results were obtained.
1) It is necessary to add modified food starch two or three times as much thickening polysaccharide in order to achieve the same consistency.
2) The modified food starch group was stabilized more quickly than the polysaccharide group. With the increase in concentration of the thickening agent, chronological changes became larger.
3) Influence of cane sugar, salt and pH on texture was studied. Consistency of a cane sugar solution added with any of the thickening agents increased more than that of water added with the agent.
4) Solubility of the thickening agent in liquid foods depended on the principal component of the thickening agent used.
5) The thickening agent B of the polysaccharide group was poor in flavor and hard to swallow. It was suggested that the flavor affects the ease in swallowing and thus warrants development of a product with better flavor.
Desirable conditions of a thickening agent are that stable texture is obtained quickly and that it is less susceptible to the influence of components contained in liquid type foods.

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The aims of this study are to examine the effect of special salt seasonings, which contains low sodium (Na), high potassium (K) and high magnesium (Mg), on sensory tests in twenty six clinically healthy subjects using four different clear soups and two thick soups and to examine the effect of regular and special salt seasonings on electrolytic balances, we studied eight healthy females under strict dietary control.
1) There were observed no significant differences in general flavor of foods prepared with ordinary type salts and seasonings and those prepared with specially prepared salts.
2) The subjects were asked to eat foods prepared with commercially available soy sauce, miso-soybean paste and salt for one week (R-period), and then asked to eat exactly the same foods but prepared with special salt preparations for the following week (S-period). The 24-hour urinary Na excretion decreased significantly from 3, 266 to 2, 615mg during the S-period (p<0.05). The urinary K and Mg excretions significantly increased from 1.5 to 2.4g (p<0.001) and from 84 to 102mg (p<0.01) during the S-period, respectively.
3) During the S-period, systolic blood pressure lowered significantly but not diastolic pressure.
The study suggested that replacing regular salt with specially prepared salt preparation may be useful for successfully managing hypertension without sacrificing the saltiness to which the patients are accustomed.

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Nutrition education on osteoporosis and calcium intake was attempted for 23 elderly women attending monthly nutrition lectures for one year using calcium-rich box lunches. The following results were obtained.
1) Total calcium intake increased significantly after 12 months. The increase was due to increased intake of milk, dairy products and seaweed.
2) No chronological changes in bone mass were observed in women in their sixties, seventies and eighties, although bone mass in those in their seventies and eighties was significantly lower than that of those in their sixties.
3) Seventy-eight % of the subjects answered that they consciously tried to eat calciumrich foods such as milk and dairy products, vegetables, soybeans and their products, seaweed, fishes and shellfishes after completing the first half of the education. After the second half, the intake of fishes and milk increased further.
These results indicate that the nutrition education program with calcium-rich box lunches and special lectures is effective for elderly women in improving their knowledge and awareness for osteoporosis and calcium intake.

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