This study aimed to ascertain the actual physical condition and eating habits of community-dwelling elderly people and to evaluate the effectiveness of individualized nutritional counseling (intervention) in promoting preventive care and health. A food intake frequency survey (BDHQ), grip strength measurements, and a lifestyle survey (before and after the intervention) were conducted with 48 elderly people (6 males and 42 females) living in the community. The intervention’s effects on these respondents are presented in this study. Although the elderly people were generally well-nourished and physically active, individual assessments revealed that some were at risk of undernutrition, had low grip strength, or had a body mass index below 21.5 (kg/m²). Many also had diseases that could lead to a future need for nursing care. After approximately 3 months of nutritional counseling (intervention) provided by a dietitian, the number of participants at risk of low dietary intake decreased, and salt intake declined. Notably, those who requested “counseling about salt” exhibited a slight improvement in seasoning practices and overall food intake, in addition to reduced salt intake. These results suggest that even for elderly people with a relatively well-maintained quality of life, early involvement by dietitians in preventive care and health promotion efforts can significantly contribute to improving nutritional status.

Traditional general feeding guidelines for healthy children indicate how to support children based on their age in months or years; however, in recent years, there has been an increase in cases that are difficult to solve from the perspective of age in months or years alone. Therefore, in this study, we developed a tool to enable nutritionists and other feeding support professionals to easily gather information and provide appropriate support by assessing the developmental stage of each individual's feeding function, such as lip, corner of mouth, tongue, and jaw movement, during infant health check-ups and childcare consultations, without being restricted solely to chronological age, and to develop a “feeding support manual.” The “Chart of Supportive Measures for Infant Dietary Consultation by Main Complaints” was developed in collaboration with various allied professions. As a result of using this manual to support children in the later stages of weaning, there was little difference in the proportion of children with immature chewing skills at the end of weaning between children who were below the stage of chewing development and children of the same age or in the control group, showing that manual guidance had some effect. In the future, we would like to work with relevant organizations and professionals to improve the manual and make it even easier to use.