To aid in utilizing the "Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan 2020 (8th edition)" (hereinafter STFCJ 2020), the features and utilization methods of STFCJ 2020, especially those concerning energy, are explained below.

 There are five notable features of STFCJ 2020: (1) publication in books and online; (2) addition of 41 prepared foods sold in markets; (3) change in the energy calculation method (change in energy-producing nutrients and energy conversion coefficient) and change in the energy value (hereinafter 2020E) to a more reliable value; (4) improved amino acid, fatty acid, and carbohydrate composition tables; and (5) reflection of the supplementary ingredient list (2016–2019) of STFCJ 2015 (such as the addition of a niacin equivalent and new dietary fiber ingredient analysis method, enhancement of explanations, and revised front page).

 Nutrition calculations utilizing energy-producing components used for 2020E and the calculation results are the closest to the actual intake. The carbohydrate energy ratio is calculated via subtraction. To calculate, it is necessary to edit STFCJ 2020. There are several nutrition calculation methods, such as conventional 2015E and its calculation component and 2020E and 2015E nutrition calculation methods and their calculation components. The choice of method should be determined according to the purpose, and the results should indicate the method. To match the nutrition calculation with the actual nutritional intake, it is convenient to calculate and register the ingredient value per 100 g of raw food after cooking so that the ingredient value after cooking can be calculated based on the total weight present in the recipe.

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate whether the patient's nutritional status on admission may influence a successful return to their pre-hospitalization medical environment.

Method: This is a single-center cohort study. We enrolled patients aged 65 years or older, hospitalized between September 2014 and October 2015 in one community hospital in Oita. Among 307 patients, 28 were excluded because of death, terminal conditions, lack of essential data on admission, and prolonged hospitalization beyond the study period, thus finally 279 patients were analyzed. Nutritional status on admission was compared between two study groups, i.e. ​a return group who could return to their home or pre-hospitalization care facility, and a non-return group who could not return to their home or pre-hospitalization medical environment.

Results: The return group comprises 192 patients and 87 patients in the non-return groups, respectively. Compared with the return group, participants in the non-return group revealed to be older, and had lower MNA-SF (Mini Nutritional Assessment Short-Form), Barthel Index, body mass index, calf circumference, and serum albumin levels. They also had more comorbidities, and the mean hospital stay was longer in the non-return group. Cox proportional hazard analysis was performed to disclose the factors which may influence patient's non-return, however, none of nine nutrition-related factors contributed to non-return to the pre-hospitalization medical environment.

Conclusion: In this study, there was no significant difference in the nutritional status of individuals who failed to discharge to their pre-hospitalization medical environment.

Objective: Reproducibility was examined using an established causal relationship model wherein the cooking experiences of elementary school students was proved to affect their self-esteem and dietary concepts and, consequently, their interest in school subjects.

Methods: The questionnaire items and target schools were the same as in the previous report, and two surveys for fifth graders were conducted in 2017 and 2018. Using the responses from 481 subjects, an exploratory factor and covariance structure analyses were conducted using the previously reported model for each classification of question items and re-verified. The reproducibility was subsequently examined by the simultaneous analysis of the two groups according to each survey year.

Results: Following an exploratory factor analysis, six, four, one, and two factors were obtained for "cooking experience," "self-esteem," "dietary concept," and "interest in school subjects," respectively. The covariance structure analysis revealed an acceptable goodness of fit of the model (GFI = 0.977, AGFI = 0.956, RMSA = 0.037). "Cooking experience" showed a significant path to "dietary concept" and "self-esteem" (path coefficient of 0.74 and 0.83, p <0.001 respectively) and "self-esteem" showed a significant path to "interest in school subjects" (path coefficient of 0.75, p <0.001). A simultaneous multi-population analysis showed no differences in the causal relationship model.

Conclusions: The reproducibility of the model was observed whereby "cooking experience" affected "self-esteem" and "interest in school subjects." Unlike in previous reports, we found that the mediating influence of "dietary concept" was low for "cooking experience" and "interest in school subjects."

Objective: To examine the relationship between chewing habits and obesity in elementary and junior high school students by grade level.

Methods: We used the data from a survey on food and nutrition education for elementary and junior high school students conducted by the Education Committee in Minato Ward, Tokyo in January 2018. After examining physique and chewing habits by sex and grade using a χ² test, we classified subjects into two groups (slimming tendency and standard weight or obesity tendency) and examined the relationships between obesity and chewing habits by sex using a χ² test and logistic regression analysis.

Results: A total of 8,704 students were analyzed (analysis target rate, 95.0%). Logistic regression analysis showed that children with poor chewing habits were more obese than children who had good chewing habits, even after adjusting for factors such as grade, physical activity, breakfast frequency, late-night meals, bedtime, and smartphone usage time [un-adjusted model 1: Odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for boys = 2.17 (1.69~2.78) and girls = 2.06 (1.34~3.20); grade-only adjusted model 2: boys = 2.14 (1.67~2.75) and girls = 2.04 (1.32~3.16); all-factor adjusted model 3: boys = 1.94 (1.50~2.52) and girls = 1.89 (1.20~2.98)].

Conclusions: Poor chewing habits may be associated with obesity in elementary and junior high school students irrespective of sex even after adjusting for grade and lifestyle.

Objective: This study was conducted to clarify the policies governing the registration of the local produce for local consumption, the dietary environmental improvements promoted by the local government authorities, and the state of the meals and dietary information offered in university cafeterias in Kyoto Prefecture.

Methods: This self-administered questionnaire study was conducted in 2017 among the cafeteria operators of 72 cafeterias in Kyoto Prefecture. We stratified these companies into those operated by University Co-op (Co-op) and general restaurant businesses and divided the subjects into two groups, those with or without a registered improvement plan. The questionnaire included 12 items on the registration status, the form and details of the meals offered, and the diet and health information offered in the cafeterias.

Results: We obtained responses from 63 cafeterias (response rate, 87.5%). The Co-op and general restaurant showed 20% and 34.5% registration, respectively. Compared with the non-registered subgroup, significantly high percentage of registered general restaurants offered vegetable dishes, fish dishes, set meals and choices of rice bowl size. There was no significant difference in the rate of dietary information between the registered and non-registered subgroups.

Conclusions: As for the general restaurants, we found a probable correlation between their registration status and healthy meals. In the future, governments, universities, and cafeteria operators should promote liaison in order to improve the dietary environment and promote the development of new formats for offering dietary information.

Objective: This study aimed to clarify the realities of food knowledge, concern, cooking skills, and subjective evaluations of food in relation to level of interest in dietary education among high school students in Osaka.

Methods: An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 686 high school students. Questions were asked on the "level of interest in dietary education" ("Do you know what dietary education is?" "Do you have access to information about dietary education?" "Are you interested in dietary education?" "Is dietary education necessary for you?"). The responses were extracted by factor analysis, and the subjects were divided into two groups, those with high and low levels of interest in dietary education. The responses to each question item were also divided according to the two groups, and the distributions of the responses of the high- and low-interest groups were compared using the χ² test.

Results: ompared with the low-interest group, there were significantly higher percentages of subjects in the high-interest group who had knowledge about food (nutritional balance, food labeling, special foods for events, etc.), were concerned about their dietary habits, and could cook, and the percentages of those who thought meals were satisfying and enjoyable were also higher. On the other hand, there was a high percentage of subjects in the low-interest group who consumed cereals and vegetables only once a day or less.

Conclusions: There appears to be a relationship between the "level of interest in dietary education" and the realities of food knowledge, concern, cooking skills, and subjective evaluations of food among high school students.

Objective: "The collection of health hazard information from foods containing ingredients that require special attention" was established in an amendment of the Food Sanitation Act. The worsening of liver function indices is the most common serious health hazard caused by health foods that have been reported. From these backgrounds, safety research for health foods focusing on the hepatic effects is urgently needed. This study was conducted to search for health food ingredients that are predicted to cause health damage to the liver.

Methods: Databases on health food materials, including "Handbook for materials of functional food" (book), "Information system on safety and effectiveness for health foods" (web; information from 2004 to July 2019), and "all of health foods and supplement's ingredients 2017" (book) were searched to extract information on the materials and ingredients of health foods that affected liver function indices and hepatic drug metabolism.

Results: In total, 1,313 items of information on health food materials were obtained, of which 211 contained information about effects on liver function. The components contained in these 211 materials including tannin (26 cases), flavonoids (20 cases), saponins (11 cases), and so on, were superordinated. Of these 211 materials, 57 contained polyphenols.

Conclusions: The effect of health food materials containing polyphenols on the liver was suggested. In the future, it would be necessary to study these effects in cell and animal experiments in order to estimate the cause-and-effect relationship between health food ingredients and their hepatic effects.

Objective: This study was conducted to clarify the purpose and intent of registered dieticians and dieticians in incorporating milk into the menu of medical diets at medical institutions by examining the actual status of the use of milk in medical diets.

Methods: Anonymous self-administered paper questionnaires on the use of milk in usual diets and diets for individuals with diabetes, renal disease, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypercholesterolemia were mailed to 967 institutions that had at least 200 beds.

Results: Responses were obtained from 234 institutions (response rate: 24.2%). Milk was often served at breakfast every day, and the reasons for this included "to meet the nutritional standards of in-hospital reserved meals," "it is common to take milk at that time of the day," "the nutritional value is low at that time of the day," and "there are few food items that can be eaten at that time of the day." Moreover, registered dieticians prioritized the nutrient composition of milk rather than using milk for preparing meal menus and providing nutritional education. However, in order to respond to patient requests, many respondents answered that they "would use alternative foods" whereas a few answered that they "would explain the reason for providing milk."

Conclusions: Registered dieticians at medical institutions incorporated milk into medical diets to encourage patients to ingest the nutrients that are present in milk. When considering the patients' personal preferences, the nutritional role of milk was rarely explained to patients nor were alternative foods other than milk provided.