Appreciation for food, an important concept in mindful eating: association with home and school education, attitude, behavior, and health status in Japanese elementary school children.

Abstract

Appreciating food is an important concept in mindful eating, mentioned by advocates of an expanded model of mindful eating in 2016. With the exception of Japan, this concept is not common in many countries. We aimed to describe the role that appreciation for food has in the health of children from two perspectives: 1) association between children's appreciation for food and their backgrounds, such as home and school educational experiences related to food, and 2) association between their appreciation for food and outcomes, such as attitude toward food, eating behaviors, and health status. Cross-sectional. Data were obtained from self-administered anonymous questionnaires sent to 2070 elementary school students in Tokyo, Japan, during October and December 2006. They contained several question items pertaining to the characteristics of participants: home and school educational experiences related to food, attitudes towards food (including level of appreciation for food), eating behaviors, and health status. T-test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and simple and multiple linear regression analyses were used to compare the total score of appreciation for food with other factors. Surveys were completed by 1994 children (response rate: 96.3%) and significant correlations were indicated by gender, educational experiences at home and school, attitudes toward healthy food, recommended food preferences, breakfast consumption, and body mass index. We concluded that appreciation for food plays an important role in children's health.