The study of university students immediately after entrance focused on the relation between their past food education, and their current eating habits and health condition. The survey also asked where they acquired cooking knowledge and skills. The students were divided into two groups ; a “considerate group” and a “non-considerate group”. The survey examined differences in eating habits, health condition, attitude to food, level of cooking skills and the source of these skills.

The results revealed significant differences : the students in the “considerate group” eat well-balanced meals every day and feel much healthier than those in the “non-considerate group”.

The most influential factor on eating habits before elementary school was the “family” in both the “considerate group” and the“ non-considerate group”. While the “family” influence was still the most important one at junior and senior high school, “friends” had a significantly greater influence in the “considerate group” than in the “non-considerate group”. Cooking skills were mostly acquired at “home”. It was clarified that the experience of help influenced the cooking technology.

It was revealed that home education is important because its influence on food is considerable. However, food education should be practiced with the full cooperation of many people in various fields.

The basic law on dietary education was enacted due to some problems connected with “eating", such as unbalanced diet, unsystematically meal, obesity, and lifestyle-related disease, and so on. Ever since, several programs for dietary education has been tried at educational institutions. Also, in order to promote dietary education effectively, various methods have been studied at many kinds of research institutes.

We have studied about the application of taste-modifying plants to food for many years. Taste-modification is the function changing taste by affecting taste buds, for example, you feel it tastes sweet even though it’s acidic, or you don’t feel any sweet taste.

We see this function as a temporary taste disorder. And we consider that people realized an importance of taste and appreciated sensing taste, then they will pay attention to eating habit by simulated experience of taste disorder. Therefore, as a method to promote dietary education effectively, we tried an approach from the taste education.

First, we conducted a survey of elementary school pupils to verify a validity of new method. As a result, there was a correlation between the interest of “eating” and the awareness of “taste”. And after the taste education class, interest level of “eating” has increased. Moreover, the awareness of “eating” changed from “feeling of fullness”, “visual effects”, “price” to “nutrition”, “health”, “atmosphere during a meal”.

These results show that elementary school pupils increased their awareness of eating by “Taste Education”, and they started to think of getting balanced nutrition for healthy body to enjoy meal. That is to say, it suggested “Taste Education” is an effective method to improve a dietary habit.

Aiming to study the relationship among college students’ attitude toward prevention of lifestyle-related diseases, dietary life, and learning related matters in compulsory education, we researched their interest in learning in compulsory education, attitude toward prevention of lifestyle-related diseases, dietary life, and others. The subjects of this study are 514 college freshmen and the research was conducted in April 2009.

The research revealed that more than half of the subjects were interested in studying foods and lifestyle-related diseases in the compulsory education period, but that they did not routinely use the basic cooking techniques they learned in school. Also, it was found that they did not have high consciousness about preventing lifestyle-related diseases, and their states of meal intake and food intake were not healthy. This indicates a high possibility that the current way of teaching related matters in compulsory education does not prepare students effectively for dietary life in college.

However, college students who practiced at home the content they learned on foods and lifestyle-related diseases in compulsory education, and those who were interested in studying foods and lifestyle-related diseases in compulsory education, have related knowledge and cooking skills, and they tend to take healthy actions more easily. As such, it is considered that class work that enhances students’ interest and practicing the learned content at home have a high possibility of leading to healthy actions.

This study investigates whether cultivation practices in nursery schools affect preschoolers’ awareness of the processes of food production. The target preschool, nursery school A, was located in the Tama area in Tokyo. Children from school A participated in various cultivation and food processing activities such as growing rice and vegetables and pickling ume. In Study 1, five-and six-year-olds from school A (n=39) and in the other school (n=40) were individually asked to explain why we must eat various types of food, chew food well, say ‘Itadakimasu’, and not leave food on plates. The answers given by the children did not differ between the two schools. The children from school A gave more detailed answers to questions regarding the processes of food production. In Study 2, 21, mealtime interaction between four-year-olds in school A were observed. While eating, the preschoolers frequently chatted about cultivation and food processing activities. Finally, the implications of cultivating activities in schools were discussed in view of the results.