Four studies were carried out to examine the following problem concerning maintenance and improvement of the Activities of Daily Living of the elderly.
　The subjects are all institutionalized elderly.
　1) The first study was to examine the transition of three items: the intake of zinc, the serum zinc concentration and the hematological consistent. It also investigated the hematological consistent that correlate with the serum zinc values.
　2) The second study was to examine the relationship between the zinc nutritional status and the factors associated with serum zinc concentration: body mass index (BMI), the level of care, the grade of bedriddenness, and the grade of cognitive function.
　3) The third study was to examine relationship, using the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI), between the zinc nutritional status and the activities of Daily Living (ADL).
　4) The fourth study was to examine evaluation by GNRI, using BMI and circumference (CC).
　The obtained results from the four studies are summarized as follows:
　1) The Activities of Daily Living of disabled elderly was influenced by the nutritional zinc status. The increasing the nutritional zinc status improved the nutritional status of protein and iron, and contributed to the maintenance and improvement of the Activities of Daily Living of the elderly.
　2) Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index proved to be an appropriate an indicator of the nutritional zinc status and Sarcopenia. Thus it may be concluded of that this index is a reliable tool in the nutritional care management.

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　Individualized diet support has become common at sites for nursing care and welfare of the elderly. This approach includes selectable menus, introduction of buffet-style meals, and treatment of patients with eating disorders and dysphagia using a dysphagia pyramid, with cooperation between dieticians, kitchen staff and care staff. The number of elderly people who will need nursing care is expected to increase, and in this context I would like to propose roles for specialists in nutrition and cooking at sites of nursing care for the elderly. First, these roles include guidance on nutrition and cooking for users of nursing care services at home and support for home care workers. Second, I propose involvement and cooperation in management of nutrition and cooking at small-scale facilities, such as group homes. In nutrition management at nursing homes for the elderly and other long-stay facilities, there is a need to prevent a rapid increase of weight after admission and to provide active dietary approaches to improve constipation. In addition, it is also necessary to develop a diet menu for maintenance and improvement of eating and swallowing. I will show how these roles in combination with experience at nursing care and welfare sites can promote discussion of nutrients and calories, and provide support for diet, a central aspect of daily life, from the standpoint of a nutrition expert.

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　The purpose of this study on the institutionalized elderly was to examine two relationships; one between the ability of communication and the Activities of Daily Living (ADL), and the other between the ability of communication and the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index.
　This study was carried out as a retrospective study using medical records. The subjects included 90 disabled elderly patients (17 male, 73 female, mean age 87 ± 8 years).
　The results from this study are summarized as follows:
　1) As the ability of communication declined, body weight and BMI were reduced, and the level of care, the grade of bedriddenness, and grade of cognitive function also became heavier.
　2) Three significant correlations were found between the ability of communication and paralysis, between the ability of communication and joint contracture, and between the ability of communication and excretion (urine and stool).
　3) Compared with the communicate group, the non-communicate group showed significantly lower GNRI values.
　These results suggest that the ability of communication is related to ADL and GNRI. In addition, it is possible that the ability of communication is an indicator of nutrition care management.

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　This study examined the influences of commercial gelling agents on the texture of jelly foods. We assessed the physical properties and sensory characteristics of jelly foods prepared using three commercial gelling agent preparations: Agent A, Agent B, and double-concentration Agent B (hereafter called “C”) Commercial gelling agents were dissolved in taro paste, spinach paste, and salmon paste, temperature was adjusted to either 20°C or 65°C, and physical properties and sensory characteristics were measured.　Hardness and adhesiveness were decreased and cohesiveness was increased in the jelly foods at 65°C. Results revealed that there was little influence of temperature and ingredients on foods gelled with Agent A and that Agent A was suitable for jelly foods at 65°C. Evaluations of texture and sensory characteristics revealed that foods gelled with Agent A were moderately softer, less adhesive, less sticky, remained in the mouth to a lesser degree, and had higher palatability than foods gelled with Agents B or C.　The results suggest that when providing jelly foods, physical properties and sensory evaluation differ depending on the main components, temperature, and concentration of the gelling agents as well as the components of the food to be gelled.

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　Nowadays, in Japan, there is a high ratio of women who complain of chilliness. In this study, the effects of lifestyle and frequency of certain types of food intake on chilliness among female college students were studied using a questionnaire (n=215).
　According to the diagnostic criteria for chilliness, 42% of all responders routinely experienced chilliness. The influence of food and lifestyle habits on chilliness was ana lyzed using logistic regression analysis. First, exploratory factor analysis was per formed on 41 items about food and life habits. These items combined into 4 factors with a few items forming their own one-item factor. Using logistic regression analysis, these factors, together with BMI (Body Mass Index), were examined to see whether they predicted the relative risk of respondents for chilliness.
　The factors “Eating more vegetables”, “Eating more noodles” and “Feeling stress” were shown by the regression analysis to be positively related to experiencing chilli ness (p<0.05). An increase in the consumption of noodles by one level of intensity on a Likert scale of one to five is associated with a 4.75 relative risk of chilliness (given average levels of BMI); an increase in stress by one level (on a one to five Likert scale) is associated with a 3.07 relative risk; an increase in the consumption of vegeta bles by one level (one to five Likert scale) is associated with a 5.56 relative risk. BMI was negatively related to chilliness (p<0.05).
　These results suggest that to prevent chilliness women should avoid primarily eat ing vegetables and foods like noodles (which are typically eaten by themselves, unlike rice, which is usually part of a balanced meal). Eating a variety of nutritionally-bal anced foods will help with chilliness as well as maintaining a proper weight. The ne cessity of reducing stress is also clear.

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　One of the aims of nutritional instruction in recent years is the reduction of salt intake. Unfortunately, this has not yet been attained. The strategy for salt reduction taken mainly from the cooking perspective consists of measures to reduce the amount of salt used in cooking. However, there are apprehensions on whether the actual amount of salt intake is correctly reflected. Thus, in order to know the correct salt intake the ratio of the actual amount of salt taken to the amount of salt used in cooking for various dishes was measured. The results are as follows. Dip the dishes into the soy sauce, sushi (300 g) is 0.4 g, noodles (200 g) is 0.2-0.8 g, boiled pork (80 g) is 0.6 g, gyouza (100 g) is 0.4 g, syuumai (100 g) is 0.3 g, chilled or boiled tofu (100 g) is 0.2 g, and steamed vegetables (25-60 g) is 0.1 g.
　The actual amount of salt intake for boiled vegetables is 50-100%, boiled fish is 30-60%. Dispersion resulted from kinds of ingredient.
　Almost food boiled and seasoned, boiling the soup until it has evaporated to no its volume is taken a lot of salt. It was liked that regarding left tablespoonful of soup when food gets boiled.

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　Undergraduate students (n = 367), who were born in the 1990s, and the generation who were born in the 1960s and have undergraduate-aged children (n = 300), completed questionnaires describing the most memorable meals and good fare from their childhood. The results were summed up as follows. First, among the 1960’s, meals at home with their families were mainly (about 80%) cited as their most memorable meal in childhood, whereas among the undergraduates, in addition to these, those with friends were also often reported (about fifty-fifty). Second, the undergraduates frequently responded that their most memorable meals were special meals, for example, a New Year party, at home with their parents and grandparents. On the other hand, the 1960’s often responded that theirs were everyday mealtimes at home. Third, the 1960’s frequently nominated specific foods as their most memorable meal and good fare, for example, “suki-yaki” and “sushi,” while the undergraduates nominated annual events such as Christmas and New Year parties more often. These results suggest that over the last few decades, people have gradually placed less importance on daily mealtimes at home, and also on family life itself. The results also appear to reflect the shift in the nature of consumption, that is, from “goods” to “service” or “experience”.

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