In order to improve an oral function, we conducted a 5-month food education program toward pre-school children aged from 4 to 5 years old in Osaka prefecture. Using a quasi-experimental design, the effectiveness of the program was evaluated by comparing the data obtained of the intervention group (n＝41) with those of the control group (n＝22). The program was consisted of three lessons with practices, chewing trainings (6 times) by using a color-changeable chewing gum, and the chewing training by wearing a chewing counter during lunch. Although the maximum bite force, the masticatory performance by the color (a*) of color-changeable gum and the oral function by the Developmental Voluntary Movement Test improved in both groups according to their natural development, the improvement was shown to be more in the intervention group. The masticatory performance of children measured 10 months later after intervention (23.60±5.03) was significantly higher (p＝0.007) than those of the children aged 5 to 6 years old in our previous study (20.06±6.75). This fact showed not only the effectiveness of our intervention program but the importance of the earlier intervention. And the maximum bite force was shown not to correlate with masticatory performance and chewing behavior, which might be more affected by their daily dietary life with the high level of parent’s awareness of chewing.

We examined the effect of printed materials about staple foods, main dishes and side dishes on the dietary behavior of fifth grade children of five elementary schools in Osaka City. The subjects were divided into two groups : those with and those without cooperating guardians. In the group with cooperating guardians, the children showed their guardians the distributed printed materials and asked for a signature. In the group without cooperating guardians, only the children received the distributed printed materials.

We conducted a questionnaire survey before and after distribution of the printed materials and analyzed data of 200 children (105 boys and 95 girls). The group with cooperating guardians showed an increase in the dinner pattern consisting of staple foods, main dishes and side dishes. The situation regarding utilization of the printed materials was better in the group with cooperating guardians than in the group without cooperating guardians, and the results suggested that cooperation of guardians not only allowed information to be provided to them but also raised the awareness of children. However, in the group without cooperating guardians, distribution of printed materials did not have an effect on the dietary behavior of children.

The printed materials had a limited effect on the dietary behavior of children related to staple foods, main dishes and side dishes. Additional studies about more effective utilization of the printed materials method are required.

We examined the influences of working situation of the parents who usually prepared meals for their children on their eating habits. The subjects were 979 children in two elementary schools and a junior high school in A city and their 781 parents. The subjects were divided into three groups according to their working situations, housewives, employees (<40hr/week), and employees (≧40hr/week). The items of the self-writing questionnaire included the consciousness of the parents for healthy cooking, the eating habits of the parents, the eating education to their children, the worries about the eating habits of their children, the eating experiences of their children, and the school life of their children. Housewives had higher scores than employees in the consciousness of the parents for healthy cooking (P<0.01) and the eating habits of the parents (P<0.05) in both of the elementary schools and the junior high school, and in the eating habits of their children (P<0.05) only in the elementary schools. However, housewives had higher scores than employees in the worries about the eating habits of their children. Present results suggest that the parents of employees needs the measures to promote to have meals with their family in the pleasures of a happy home. On the other hand, the parents of housewives needs the measures to cope with the worries about the eating habits of their children.