Influence of awareness of the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top on eating behavior and obesity.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of awareness of the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top on eating behavior and obesity in Japan. Participants were 1,558 Japanese male and female adults (40.2±12.2 years) who had been registered with a social research company. The cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted via the Internet in November 2007. Potential respondents were invited to complete the survey via e-mail, which contained a link to the survey Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The measures were awareness of the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top, eating knowledge scores, eating attitude scores, and eating behaviors scores, according to the recommendations of the Health Japan 21 and the Food Balance Guide Spinning Top. Obesity was assessed by self-reported body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. The relationships between awareness of the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top, eating knowledge scores, eating attitude scores, eating behavior scores, and obesity were analyzed using path analysis. Path analysis revealed that awareness of the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top was associated with BMI and waist circumference via eating behavior scores. In addition, eating knowledge scores and eating attitude scores were mediators of the association between awareness of the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top and eating behavior scores. These results suggest that promotion of the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top would be a useful strategy to encourage healthy eating and prevent obesity in the Japanese population.