[Status and challenges related to creating a healthy food environment: a questionnaire survey for public health dieticians]

Objectives Creating a healthy food environment is crucial for healthful longevity in Japan. This study aimed to provide an overview of the status and challenges related to creating that environment through prefectural public health centers.Methods Public health dieticians working at 489 prefectural public health centers in March 2015 individually completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. Berelson's content analysis was utilized for response analysis.Results Data from 359 (response rate: 74.3%) prefectural public health centers, involving 599 public health dieticians, were included in the analysis. More than 80% of the prefectural public health centers implemented a registration system for dining facilities such as restaurants. Furthermore, greater than 80% of the public health dietitians thought that creating a healthy food environment was an important aspect of their work mission. On the other hand, more than 50% of these dieticians expressed dissatisfaction in their role. In terms of evaluation, the public health centers only monitored the number of registered facilities, with few other evaluations conducted. Approximately 80% of the participants requested national guidelines and/or some legal support from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare and/or the prefectural administration.Conclusion This study demonstrated that there are challenges related to creating a healthy food environment through prefectural health centers. Improving the evaluation methods and government/administrative provision of national guidelines and/or legal supports were identified as courses of action.