〔研究ノート〕幼児の食生活に関する調査研究-朝食摂取を中心に-

The objective of the present study is to investigate approaches to dietary education at nursery schools by elucidating the actual dietary life of nursery school children and the dietary awareness of their parents. A questionnaire survey was conducted on a total of 1,049 parents of 4-year-old children attending public nursery schools in Ward S of Tokyo. Ninety seven point two percent of the responses were valid and the following results were obtained:1 A total of 97.4% of children ate breakfast every day, while 2.6% sometimes skipped it. Reasons for skipping it were lack of appetite(55.6%)and lack of time(27.8%).2 Regarding the people children ate breakfast with, the most common response was the mother(81.8%), and while few responded that their children ate alone(2.8%), 10.2% indicated that their children ate with other children only. Eating with other children only was associated with a low level of enjoyment, and the frequency of greetings before and after eating was also lower compared to when children ate with adults.3 As for the contents of breakfast, while 97.2% regularly ate a carbohydrate rich staple food, only 63.9% and 38.1% of children respectively ate a protein rich main dish such as fish or meat, and a side dish such as vegetables or seaweed every day. Breakfast contents were classified into five patterns, and the most common pattern was "Pattern 2: Staple food + one main or side dish"(33.9%), followed by the ideal combination of "Pattern 1: Staple food + main dish + side dish"(32.1%), and "Staple food only"(30.8%). Although few children skipped breakfast, these findings indicate the need to improve breakfast contents.4 "Pattern 1: Staple food + main dish + side dish" was more common among children who ate with adults compared to those who ate with other children only, children of parents who liked cooking compared to those of parents who disliked cooking, and among children who did not dislike any vegetables and children whose parents checked the lunch menu of their children\u27s nursery school every day.5 Intake of restaurant food, pre-cooked food, boxed meals, and convenience store food for breakfast was no more than once weekly. Intake of frozen food was slightly more frequent. These findings suggest that factors that positively affect breakfast intake among nursery school children include eating with adults overcoming any dislike of vegetables with the help of adults, and the parents coming to like cooking and developing a greater awareness regarding their children\u27s diet

Japanese Diet and Mortality, Disability, and Dementia: Evidence from the Ohsaki Cohort Study

The Japanese dietary pattern has long been discussed as one of the factors behind the longevity of Japanese people. However, the health benefits of the Japanese dietary pattern have not been fully elucidated. We published the first report in the world regarding the relation between the Japanese dietary pattern and cardiovascular disease mortality in 2007 using cohort studies including Japanese residents of Ohsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Since then, we have developed the Japanese Diet Index (JDI) that was based on previous findings to assess the degree of the Japanese dietary pattern and to advance the evidence on the health effects of the Japanese dietary pattern. So far, we have explored the associations between the JDI score (in quartiles) and various outcomes. For all-cause mortality, in comparison to Q1 (the lowest), the multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were 0.92 (0.85–1.00) for Q2, 0.91 (0.83–0.99) for Q3, and 0.91 (0.83–0.99) for Q4 (the highest). For functional disability, the multivariable HRs (95%CIs) were 0.94 (0.81–1.09) for Q2, 0.90 (0.77–1.05) for Q3, and 0.79 (0.68–0.92) for Q4. For dementia, the multivariable HRs (95%CIs) were 0.88 (0.74–1.05) for Q2, 0.87 (0.73–1.04) for Q3, 0.79 (0.66–0.95) for Q4. In addition, people with higher adherence to the Japanese dietary pattern also showed decreases in disability and dementia risks. The purpose of this article was to review all six papers, summarize the health effects of the Japanese dietary pattern, and discuss implications for future research

Inflammatory projections after focal brain injury trigger neuronal network disruption: An 18F-DPA714 PET study in mice

Due to the heterogeneous pathology of traumatic brain injury (TBI), the exact mechanism of how initial brain damage leads to chronic inflammation and its effects on the whole brain remain unclear. Here, we report on long-term neuroinflammation, remote from the initial injury site, even after subsiding of the original inflammatory response, in a focal TBI mouse model. The use of translocator protein-positron emission tomography in conjunction with specialised magnetic resonance imaging modalities enabled us to visualize “previously undetected areas” of spreading inflammation after focal cortical injury. These clinically available modalities further revealed the pathophysiology of thalamic neuronal degeneration occurring as resident microglia sense damage to corticothalamic neuronal tracts and become activated. The resulting microglial activation plays a major role in prolonged inflammatory processes, which are deleterious to the thalamic network. In light of the association of this mechanism with neuronal tracts, we propose it can be termed “brain injury related inflammatory projection”. Our findings on multiple spatial and temporal scales provide insight into the chronic inflammation present in neurodegenerative diseases after TBI. Keywords: Translocator protein-positron emission tomography, Traumatic brain injury, Neurodegeneration, Neuroinflammatio