A school in Tokyo is taking a small but important step to teach children the value of good nutrition by returning to Japan’s culinary traditions, writes Kasmiah Mustapha.
THE clock strikes 12 and it is lunch time for students at Nishikasai Elementary School in Tokyo. Under observation by their teacher, several children wearing white coats, caps and face masks are pulling a trolley to deliver meals to their classmates, who are forming a line. They are holding trays on which are bowls and plates.Today, lunch for the 648 students is a bowl of rice, grilled fish, boiled greens with mushrooms, miso soup, a slice of pear, a packet of milk and a bottle of probiotic drink Yakult.
As the school in the Edogawa District in the Japanese capital does not have a cafeteria, students have their meals in their classrooms. Once everyone is seated, a student stands in front of the room and recites a short prayer. Then everyone eats.
For Kudomi Tanaka, Kota Takeshita, Genya Azuma, Ami Yamamoto and Sakurako Shimowaki, who are all aged between 8 and 9 years, their lunch is delicious. They are also aware of its health benefits.
“Our teacher has explained to us that we need to eat red, yellow and green foods. They are healthy foods and will give us the energy that we need. I love the food, especially the vegetables and soup,” says Tanaka.
With a big smile, Takeshita nods his head, saying that “lunch is the best time”. “I eat everything. I love it when we have mushrooms and vegetables. I like fish too.”
Azuma is happy about the food. He is the first to finish his lunch, cleaning off his plate. Both Yamamoto and Shimowaki love the menu, which varies every day. During the week, they eat either fish or meat, in addition to vegetables and fruit.
“I know these are good for us. Our teacher told us that we need to eat more healthy food and less fast food. We are also told to always eat breakfast as it is the most important meal. I love it when they serve goya (a Japanese vegetable). It is delicious. I wish I can have it every day,” says Yamamoto.
HEAD START
At a time when childhood obesity is worrying everyone and computer games have replaced outdoor play, this school’s simple but highly valuable education on food and nutrition is proof of what experts have agreed on all along — that education on nutrition must start early.By introducing children to healthy food, they are aware of how good food fuels the body, and they will be more inclined to make healthier choices.
Under the school’s Food and Nutrition education programme, students are given a healthy lunch comprising the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals. The school principal Yasuo Yamashita says that before the programme, students often did not have breakfast before going to school. As a result, they did not have the energy to focus on their lessons. To make matters worse, their diet was full of fat.
“This programme is in response to the increase in lifestyle diseases among youth due to a Western diet. We want our children to learn about nutrition. We want to educate them on the importance of balanced meals to ensure they are healthy. Before the programme, the children had no idea what a balanced meal was as they were not getting it at home,
“They ate whatever they liked and what they liked was often unhealthy. But after they learnt about food and nutrition, most of them are no longer eating unhealthy food. Even at home, parents give them balanced meals.”
The school dietitian Kiyoe Yoshida, who plans the menu, says the focus is to curb excess fat intake by introducing more Japanese dishes and using traditional ingredients including seaweed, dried bonito shavings and small dried sardines to make stock for Japanese dishes instead of artificial seasoning.
“We teach students the importance of eating the food group from three colours: Yellow, green and red. Yellow is food with carbohydrates, green is vegetables and fruit, and red is food with calcium and protein.
“We create well-balanced meals that include grains, potatoes, meat, fish and vegetables so that the students, who are growing, get the essential nutrients.”
To ensure balanced meals, the students’ lunch comprise the staple carbohydrate, main protein dish, side dish with vitamins and minerals, and soup which supplies water and nutrients.
MAIN DISHES
For the staple food, the school uses a weekly cycle of three days of white rice, one day of bread and one day of noodles. The main dish will be any food high in protein and the side dish will be vegetables and fruit.“Since Japanese people do not get enough calcium in their diet, we include milk in the lunch menu. We set the nutrient standard to a level that is equivalent to about one-third of the daily required nutrients for students. We want them to have 50 per cent of the daily required amount of calcium, which they do not get at home and about 40 per cent of iron from the school lunch.”
The students are also taught dietary habits. Those in lower grades observe table manners, students in middle grades learn the importance of nutrition from meats, grains, fruit and vegetables and those in higher grades learn the importance of well-balanced meals.
The school publishes a monthly newsletter on food and nutrition. The newsletter informs students thee types of food to eat, benefits of eating a balanced meal and foods to avoid.
“Lifestyle diseases begin as early as childhood. The number of children suffering from obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes in Japan is increasing.
With this programme, we hope students will understand more about healthy living and incorporate it into their lives.”
Lunch is prepared at the school kitchen by a private company. Each student, depending on his grade, pays between 220 and 250 yen (between RM8 and RM10) per year for the lunch.
The writer’s visit to Tokyo is courtesy of Yakult (Malaysia)
Health in numbers
• Lifestyle-related diseases account for about 60 per cent of the cause of deaths and 30 per cent of national medical costs in Japan.
• About 22.1 million Japanese are diabetics or are in pre-diabetic stage.
• One in two men and one in five women between 40 and 74 years old suffer from metabolic syndrome diseases or have the potential to have it.
• About 30 per cent of men between the ages of 20 and 60 are obese. For women in the same age group, the obesity rate is 22.2 per cent.
• Thirty per cent of women in their 20s suffer from underweight problems.
Triumph of tradition
IN its effort to reduce lifestyle diseases and improve the quality of life, the Japanese Government wants the people to return to eating traditional dishes. Instead of relying too much on Western food, the Japanese have been urged to eat more Japanese-style dishes which have balanced nutrients.
Kanagawa Institute of Technology Department of Nutritional Education Professor Naomi Aiba said Japanese eating patterns have changed since the 1960s, when they included more balanced ratios of carbohydrate, protein and vitamins. Now the Japanese have too much processed food which is high in fat and salt, which has led to an increasing number of lifestyle diseases.
“The composition of a well-balanced Japanese meal should consists of staple food such as rice, bread and noodles. There should be vegetables and meat, fish or eggs, milk or other dairy products and fruit. However, this composition is becoming less and less in their daily diet.”
“We want to tackle this issue through the Shokuiku (which means food and nutrition education) programme. We are hoping that once they follow the programme, more people will continue to practise proper diet and exercise to prevent and reduce lifestyle diseases. We also hope there will be an increase in the proportion of the population that is diet-conscious and interested in nutrition education. We want to increase the use of local produce for school lunches and emphasise spending time with family over meals.”
In 2005, the Japanese Government had passed the Shokuiku Basic Act, which focuses on food and nutrition education and promotes quality of life from children to the elderly. Through Shokuiku, the government is hoping that the people will make better food choices.
CHANGING DIET
Office of Shokuiku Promotion deputy director Fukue Seino says some of the issues related to food and nutrition in Japan include a change in dietary habits due to diversification of lifestyles, irregular diet and unbalanced nutrition, obesity and excessive slimming, increase of lifestyle-related diseases, dependence on food and nutrition from abroad, and banishing of the traditional food culture.
“To overcome this problem, there are three priority issues under the second phase of the Shokuiku plan. We focus on building a lifelong Shokuiku society, ensuring it will help prevent lifestyle-related diseases and inculcate healthy habits in children.”
It is important to ensure that the programme is aimed at people of all ages so that they can cultivate a healthy mind and body.
Prevention of lifestyle diseases has become a national issue in Japan. With this programme, the government is working with local governments and authorities and related organisations to prevent these diseases. Appropriate measures include disseminating information so that each person can make an informed decision about food and nutrition.
“It is also important to ensure children cultivate healthy eating habits early as it will be difficult to change once they become adults. Because of this, it is important to encourage families to have meals together. Parents should teach their children basic table manners, diet and good habits as a family.
“With the changes in lifestyles, it gets difficult for families to have meals together. Children lack food and nutrition education at home, which is the place that forms the foundation for food education.”
At present, there are 4,200 nutrition teachers at public schools and lunch is provided for elementary and junior high school students.
There will also be promotions of agriculture, forestry and fishery products from every region in Japan to encourage local dietary patterns. There is also a plan to include Japanese dishes in the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
http://www.nst.com.my/life-times/health/partners-in-health-1.173648
