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In this study investigated the association between health practices and food stockpiling for disasters in predicted areas with a high risk of food shortage due to the Nankai Trough earthquake. A survey was conducted during 18–20 December 2019 using a self-administered web-based questionnaire. In total, 1200 individuals registered with an online survey company participated in the study. The association between health practices and food stockpiling status was analyzed (n = 998). 59.1% of participants had a poor Breslow’s seven health practice scores (BHPS), 32.9% had a moderate score, and 8.0% had a good score. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that higher BHPS had a significantly higher prevalence of food stockpiling. Additionally, the interrupted group had the highest percentage of participants with low BHPS. Lower BHPS was significantly associated with interrupted stockpiled in the adjusted models. Among the seven health practices, the odds ratio of the “eating breakfast” practice was high. There was a significant positive association between higher health practice scores and food stockpiling for disasters in areas with a high risk of food shortage due to the predicted earthquake. Particularly, it was clarified that individuals who had fewer good health practices were associated with ending up interrupting food stockpiling.

Altogether, 1588 dietitians were dispatched from the Japan Dietetic Association (JDA) to a disaster area for the first time on a nationwide scale following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Various studies have been conducted based on the activity reports, but the support that the disaster area requested was not documented. The purpose of this study is to identify the support that was needed in the disaster area. Therefore, we investigated the necessary support desired by dietitians who lived in the disaster areas. Questionnaires were sent to 1911 dietitians who were members of the JDA and lived in 3 affected prefectures in August 2012. In total, 435 dietitians (22.8%) completed the questionnaire. Among the questions on the questionnaire, we analyzed answers to the open-ended question: &ldquo, Please write freely about the support that you wanted at the time of the disaster&rdquo, (n = 332). Using qualitative descriptive analysis, we extracted data from the answers and categorized and labeled them into similar groups. These groups were divided into four categories: (1) &ldquo, goods,&rdquo, (2) &ldquo, establishing a system in advance of a large-scale disaster,&rdquo, (3) &ldquo, information,&rdquo, and (4) &ldquo, human resources.&rdquo, To provide &ldquo, &ldquo, and &ldquo, human resources&rdquo, to the disaster area smoothly, it is important to plan a &ldquo, system&rdquo, in advance of large-scale disasters.

Objectives To assess the improvement of the menus by the meal providing system in emergency shelters, we reanalyzed the data obtained from the dietary survey at emergency shelters in the Miyagi Prefecture one month after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.Methods We performed secondary use of the dietary survey conducted by the Miyagi prefectural government. In total, 386 emergency shelters participated in the dietary survey of one day in April 2011. We examined the meal providing system (the frequency of meals per day, the frequency of mass feeding for evacuees per day, and menu creators) and the menus at each emergency shelter (260). We classified menus into the following five groups: staple foods, main dishes, side dishes, dairy products, and fruits, and calculated the frequency of provision per day.Results There was no emergency shelter that provided zero or one meal per day. Compared with the emergency shelters that provided two meals per day, shelters that provided three had a significantly higher provision frequency of staple foods. However, there were no significant differences in the provision frequencies of the other four food groups between the shelters with two or three meals per day. In emergency shelters with a higher frequency of mass feeding for evacuees, the provision frequency of four food groups (staple foods, main dishes, side dishes, and fruits) was significantly higher compared to shelter with a lower frequency of mass feeding for evacuees. Furthermore, in the emergency shelters where dietitians created menus, the provision frequency for two food groups (dairy products and fruits) was significantly higher compared to shelters without dietitians.Conclusion A high frequency of mass feeding for evacuees resulted in a high provision frequency of main dishes, side dishes, and fruits, which can be limited in supply after a disaster. Also, in the emergency shelters where dietitians created menus, the provision frequency of dairy products and fruits was higher than in those without dietitians. These results suggested that diets in the emergency shelters may be improved by mass feeding and the involvement of dietitians.