Japanese / English

Ikuko SHIMADA,  Lecturer


1. Current Courses

  • Food Service Management
  • Planning and Assessment of Food Services 
  • Food Service Management Practicum
  • Seminar for Dietitians
  • Food Care for the Elderly Practicum (until 2011)

 

2. Research Area

  • Food Service Management: Management of Food service facilities, Sanitation, Forms of Food for the Elderly, Emergency Management for Disasters
  • Effect of Ramadan Fasting on Eating Behavior and Sleep through the Alteration of Lifestyle Patterns

 

3. Research Topics

  1. Effect of Ramadan fasting on eating behavior and sleep patterns
  2. Using different forms of food to counter problems in chewing and dysphagia to improve nutrition in elderly patients.
  3. Emergency case management for providing and distributing food in disasters and similar situations, and the development of a related training program for dietitians.
  4. Basic research in dietary sodium reduction using a cook/chill system
  5. Recipes for yuzu (Citrus juno) and yuzu products.
  6. School meals for children with food allergies at nursery schools.

 

4. Research Summary

  1. Muslim fasting causes changes in eating habits and influences the ending times of meals at night, as well as, bedtimes, times for waking up, and the quality of sleep. Our research also suggests that gender influences these changes.
  2.  We examined improvements in nutrition from using an agent that makes meat easier to eat and digest for elderly patients. Our goal was to improve the quality of life for elderly patients experiencing difficulty in chewing, deglutition, and to prevent a declines in protein intake.
  3. We are developing a the training program for the crisis management skills needed by administrative dietitians. This includes such areas as the improvement of food storage for earthquakes and making menus for emergency meals at the time of the disaster.
  4. Using the Cook/Chill system, we examined ways to create a delicious, low-salt diet and how to introduce it to various food-service facilities.
  5. As part of a program to develop food products and local food industries, we published recipes for dishes and sweets using yuzu (Citrus juno) and yuzu products from Monobe-cho in Kami City. One aim of the recipes to to spread the popularity of yuzu in counties outside Japan.
We distributed a questionnaire to compare lunches for children with food allergies in nursery schools and at home in Tosa City. We found a high level of coordination between school and home meals owing to parental interest and involvement. We also measured a strong interest in emergency food storage for people with food allergies, triggered by the earthquake in Tohoku, but it has not yet led to any concrete action regarding food preparation and storage.

    Faculty of Nutrition,
    University of Kochi