Theories of nutrition education and promotion in Japan: enactment of the "Food Education Basic Law".

The objective of this paper was to identify the necessity of a theory incorporating "a holistic view of food and nutrition dynamics". The generation of this theory and its potential to effect nutrition education practices, was also examined using examples of practice in Japan. The necessity and potential of a nutrition theory with "a holistic view of food and nutrition dynamics" was shown through discussions about the "Food Education Basic Law" (The Basic Law on Shokuiku) enacted in 2005 in Japan and the following case examples: a study of daily fish consumption of 2,110 school children in Japan from the viewpoint of human and food ecology; a study of school children's eating habits with their families which involved drawing a meal picture; a nutrition intervention that used a 5 point meal box system (3:1:2 meal box magic) to measure the quantity and quality appropriate for one meal; and a nutrition education program for school-aged children. Finally, a definition of nutrition education aimed at the sustainable and harmonious coexistence of both quality of life (QOL) and quality of environment (QOE) was suggested.