School-based "Shokuiku" program in Japan: application to nutrition education in Asian countries

This paper provides the overview of "Shokuiku" in Japan, and discusses the future perspective on application of its concepts to nutrition education in other Asian countries. In Japan, there has been a growing concern on increase of obesity and the metabolic syndrome among middle-aged men. Additionally, child obesity has also become one of the important health problems. The increased obesity among them is possibly associated with inappropriate dietary habits (eg skipping breakfast, excessive fat intake and insufficient vegetable). Under this circumstance, the "Basic Law on Shokuiku" was enacted in 2005, which was the first law that regulates one's diets and eating habits. For effective implementation of Shokuiku program, dietitians and registered dietitians would play important roles in various settings. Japan has a long history of dietitian system as well as school-lunch programs. Later, in order to further enhance the school-based Shokuiku programs, the Diet and Nutrition Teacher System was established in April 2007. From an international point of view, "nutrition education" programs aim to improve dietary practices so as to ensure adequate energy or nutrient intake and also to reduce obesity and lifestyle-related diseases, whereas the concepts of Shokuiku have very wide approaches. Shokuiku's efforts expand to support food culture, especially through school-based programs, as well as to improve food environment by providing information on appropriate diets. These approaches can be introduced in nutrition education in other Asian countries, not only to improve one's health and nutritional status but also to secure food culture and food safety in each country.