Objective: This paper aims to develop sustainable and healthy dietary behaviors (SHDBs) that contribute to environmental protection and health promotion. It will also examine the association of implementation frequency with demographic characteristics.

Methods: The basis for developing SHDB items were previous studies and domestic and foreign guidelines concerning them. Data from 508 adult participants (median 40 years; women: 51.0%), who answered an online questionnaire survey conducted in December 2021, were used to examine implementation frequency and characteristics. The distribution of implementation frequency of each item was described. Mann-Whitney U test and correlation analysis were used to examine each item's implementation frequency association with participants' characteristics (sex, age, BMI, resident status, education, and household income).

Results: A total of 30 items were developed as SHDBs. Women implemented 24 SHDBs more frequently than men (p < 0.05). Participants of higher age implemented 3 SHDBs more frequently (ρ = 0.250, p < 0.001; e.g., I choose locally produced foods.) Participants who lived with more generations implemented "I choose 5 or more vegetable dishes (ρ = 0.214, p < 0.001)" more frequently.

Conclusion: 30-item SHDBs, from food choice to disposal, emerged in this study. Several items were different in implementation frequency based on certain characteristics, such as sex. Further research will promote studies and implementation concerning SHDBs using the 30-item SHDBs.

Objective: To foster collaborations between residents of group homes for people with dementia and registered dietitians, we investigated the effects of menu planning and cooking support on the number of foods consumed per day.

Methods: This non-randomized controlled trial was conducted at three group homes (intervention facilities) in the Fukuoka Prefecture. We provided menu suggestions and introduced communal cooking by residents and nursing staff once a week for 6 months starting April 2019. Additionally, we compared the changes in the number of foods consumed by the residents from the implemented menu before (October 2018) and after (October 2019) the support period with those at the two facilities that received no support (non-intervention facilities).

Results: Before the support period, no significant differences were found in age, body mass index, gender, and level of independence in daily life between the residents of the intervention and non-intervention facilities; furthermore, no significant difference was observed in the total number of foods consumed per day at both facilities. However, after the support period, the residents of the intervention facility consumed significantly more foods per day than those of the non-intervention facility.

Conclusion: The 6-month menu planning and cooking support intervention at the group home could have contributed to the increase in the number of foods consumed per day by the intervention facility residents. Thus, future studies should focus on establishing a sustainable nutrition support system using additional nutrition management systems. This could include training programs for staff on menu planning and cooking and implementing electronic dietary records to monitor resident nutritional intake.

Objective: This study investigated the relationship between nutrients and variants of COVID-19 for each area in Japan.

Method: We used data obtained from the national health and nutrition examination survey; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; Statistics Bureau; and National Insutitute of Population and Social Security Research. The present study examined the correlation coefficients between each intake of 40 kinds of nutrients and the cumulative numbers of the fourth, fifth, and sixth waves of COVID-19 cases in 12 areas in Japan via the ecological research method, adjusting population density and average age using rank correlation and regression analysis.

Results: Intakes of total protein (ρ = 0.639), animal protein (ρ = 0.784), cholesterol (ρ = 0.622), total dietary fiber (ρ = -0.725), and insoluble dietary fiber (ρ = -0.677); and energy rations of carbohydrates (ρ = -0.846) and animal protein (ρ = 0.661) had significant correlations with the number of COVID-19-positive cases in the fourth wave; carbohydrate energy ratio (ρ = -0.720) in the fifth wave; and vitamin K intakes (ρ = -0.729) and animal protein energy ratio (ρ = 0.601) in the sixth wave. In addition to dietary fiber intake, vegetables were associated with the number of COVID-19-positive cases in the sixth wave, and the omicron variant was mainly detected.

Conclusion: These findings suggest a relationship between some nutrients and the recent variants of COVID-19 in Japan. A multifaceted analysis should be further conducted.

Objective: To elucidate food education policy in Taiwan under the Food and Agricultural Education Act implemented in 2022.

Method: A literature analysis of materials accessible online (mainly government documents) focusing on the backgrounds and policy framework under the Agricultural Education Act.

Result: The framework for food education policy in Taiwan is structured by the central promotion committee, the development of basic plans at the central and regional levels, and professional training and nationwide collaboration at all institutional levels (governments, industries, schools, and communities). These elements are essentially similar to the policy structure in Japan under the Basic Act on Shokuiku. However, Taiwan's food education policy includes unique characteristics, like the centrality of agriculture, gender/family consciousness, and respect for diversity and openness of its food cultures. These aspects can potentially overcome the challenges faced by Japan's food education.

Conclusion: Despite the delay from Japan and South Korea, Taiwan's food education brings worldwide implications. Further research is needed to understand the actual implementation of the agriculture-based core philosophy in the educational fields.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to understand the methods employed to reduce the number of the types of dishes served in hospital food services, to rationalize and improve cooking operational efficiency.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted in 8,297 hospitals nationwide to examine and review certain instances of reducing the number of the types of dishes with respect to menu, staple food, main dish, side dish, and soup. Consequently, a qualitative content analysis was conducted.

Results: Of the 2,011 facilities that responded, 2,007 facilities provided valid responses (valid response rate, 24.2%). Of these, 1,069 facilities that responded that they "have reviewed or reduced the number of the types of dishes within the past five years" or "plan to review or reduce the number of types of dishes" were included in the analysis. The top choices for reviewing/reducing the number of the types of dishes were: "devising menu preparation" and "simplifying nutrition standards" for the menu, "adjustment in serving size" for staple food, "use of fully cooked or half-cooked products", "improving the efficiency of cooking procedures" for main and side dishes, and "no providing soup for those with strict salt restrictions" for soups. The specific examples of reviewing and reducing the number of the types of dishes were applied to the process of food service management in hospitals, from preparation of dietary prescription to serving meals, and were organized into the following three categories: "reduction of the types of dishes," "ingenuity at the menu preparation stage," and "simplification of the operational cooking processes".

Conclusion: In order to rationalize and improve the efficiency of the cooking operations, it was considered that is essential to simplify the nutritional standards, utilize processed ingredients, and devise ways to make the same menu and ingredients adjust to multiple many meals classified according to diseases, at the menu planning stage itself.