[Feature: The Future of Japanese "Food"] Yuka Honda: The Future of Children is Created by Women's Diet

2022/02/04

As a former researcher for a health equipment manufacturer, I am currently engaged in health information science research as a university researcher. Using IoT (Internet of Things) technology, I am researching the "construction of a health information platform," a system that "visualizes" people's health status and "extracts health issues" to promptly deliver necessary health information to those who need it. Are you aware that in recent years, the number of low birth weight infants (less than 2,500g) has been increasing in our country? *1 (Figure 1).

Reports suggest that the background to this includes medical progress (increase in the proportion of preterm infants), an increase in multiple pregnancies, and smoking, but a major reason is also the problem of insufficient energy intake and malnutrition due to Japanese women's desire for thinness and slimness *2. Furthermore, in the perinatal field, the concept of "DOHaD (Developmental Origins of Health and Disease)" has been proposed, and it has become clear that the diet and lifestyle habits of women before and during pregnancy affect the fetus and increase the child's risk of lifestyle-related diseases in the future. In Japan, where efforts are often focused on health support and care for the elderly in the era of 100-year lifespans, it can sometimes be difficult to advance research that shines a light on the health issues of young women who have no subjective symptoms. However, the children who will be born from now on are the generation that will support society 30 and 50 years into the future. By utilizing IoT and AI technology to "visualize" the nutritional status and eating behavior of young women and providing necessary health information when needed, there is a possibility of preventing low birth weight infants. Although it is a major challenge, I believe it is necessary to continue challenging ourselves without giving up, based on the Keio University spirit of "Jigisakuko" (creating one's own path).

Globally, the expansion of the "double burden of malnutrition," where undernutrition and overnutrition coexist, has become a major problem. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this issue, while on the other hand, it is reported that "eating disorders" among young women are rapidly increasing in our country *3. Thinness in young women can affect the risk of increased diabetes, infertility, and bone loss, in addition to the risk of giving birth to low birth weight infants. Since early "thinness countermeasures" will lead to a reduction in medical costs in the future, several developed countries have established social and political regulations regarding "thinness" in young women since around 2000. In contrast, there are no such regulations in Japan (Figure 2), and thin women are still celebrated in the media as the standard of beauty.

In view of this situation, last year we conducted a "Web survey on ideal physique, lifestyle habits, and menstrual status by physique among young women (364 people; 31.4 ± 6.0 years old)" *4. As a result of the analysis, it became clear that the "ideal weight" of young women is on average 4.1 kg lower than their actual weight, and the "proportion of young women aiming for a thin physique" is about 90% in the BMI underweight group and about 30% in the BMI normal group. In order to change the current concept of beauty that "being thin is beautiful" to the concept that "a healthy normal physique is cool," I believe it is necessary to proceed with regulations on overly thin models, education and awareness for maintaining a normal weight, improvement of lifestyle habits, and awareness and dissemination of preconception care (pre-pregnancy health management) from pre-puberty.

At the Health Information Consortium of the Keio Research Institute at SFC, to which I belong, we launched a food and nutrition research and awareness team called the "Nijiiro Shokuiku School" (Rainbow Dietary Education School) in June 2021. Here, we are developing programs and tools using "rainbow colors (7 colors)" to convey the mechanisms of "nutrition" in a scientifically easy-to-understand and fun way (Figure 3).

In the "Basics of Dietary Education" seminar, instructors who are scientists provide easy-to-understand explanations on topics such as how the human body is made of food and how people need to intake appropriate amounts of nutrients from meals to live (Figure 4). It has been well-received by participants as being very easy to understand and fun to learn, with approximately 400 people participating during the six months of the COVID-19 pandemic *5.

In addition, we will work on measures to improve "excessive salt intake," which has become an issue in the with-COVID society. Currently, with the cooperation of food companies, we are preparing a salt-reduction hands-on dietary education science program for children and women (mothers) (led by the Committee for Improving Children's Taste Ability), which is scheduled for implementation in FY2022 (Figure 5).

Regarding our research activities on food and nutrition, we issued a commitment at the official side event hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries at the UN Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit held in December 2021. Specifically, we declared that by 2030, we will work to improve the nutrition of young women and children by visualizing nutritional status and developing educational awareness programs through "ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) dietary education awareness activities utilizing ICT through industry-academia-government-citizen collaboration." Aiming to realize a healthy society where all people have knowledge about food and nutrition at the necessary time and can prevent diseases through their own will and choices through these activities contributes to "Goal 2 (Zero Hunger)," "3 (Good Health and Well-being)," "4 (Quality Education)," and "5 (Gender Equality)" of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We will continue to actively proceed with the support and cooperation of companies. Please look forward to our ESD dietary education awareness activities with the keyword "Nijiiro" (Rainbow).

*2 Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, e-Health Net "Nutritional problems caused by 'thinness' and excessive dieting in young women" (Accessed January 7, 2022)

*3 National Center for Child Health and Development "Survey on the actual state of children's minds during the COVID-19 pandemic: 'Anorexia Nervosa' among eating disorders increased by 1.6 times" (Accessed January 7, 2022)

*5 Keio University Health Information Consortium, Keio Research Institute at SFC "1st Nijiiro Shokuiku School Event Report" (Accessed January 7, 2022)