The Survey Concerning the Promotion of Food and Nutrition Education among Dental Students : Part one in Reference to Oral Health and Eating Breakfast

Abstract

The Japan Dental Association and the Japan Dietetic Association have released their Joint Declaration on the Promotion of Dietary Education for Health-Building. This declaration announces their intention to collaborate and cooperate as “food-related” professions in a national movement to widely promote food education and to help ensure that everyone has access to healthy and body enriching diets. Accordingly, the promotion of dietary education in dental and oral health is gaining increasing importance. In addition, food and nutrition education refers to developing and promoting knowledge regarding food among people to help gain the capability of selecting food that supports their prac-tical and healthy eating habits. Furthermore, in some countries, the relationships between food and nutrition education, that between nutrition and general health, and education about the importance of these factors for relevant medical professions are considered seriously. However, almost no survey research has yet been conducted on food and nutrition education for dental schools and dental students. This study reports the oral health and breakfast eating habits of dental students. Food and nutrition education for adolescents, including university students, plays an important role in promoting their health and well-being. Dental students who understand the need for balanced nutrition will be in a better position to share this knowledge with their future patients. As a part of this course, students were asked to review their dietary habits and were provided with appropriate understanding and the means to improve their own quality of life while focusing on lifestyle-related diseases and their prevention. In conclusion, our results suggest that a high proportion of students who had breakfast every day, woke up early and ate their breakfasts at family home, and then undertook long commutes to their schools. We also noted that a high proportion of the participants who indicated that they were in good health ate breakfast every day, while paying attention to obtaining nutritionally balanced meals and chewing their food slowly for optimal ingestion.