Field Nutrition” research on lifestyle-related diseases and diet among elderly people in Himalayan highland

Project Leader : KIMURA, Yumi

Project Members :

Period : FY2013-2015

Research Summary :

Increase in lifestyle-related diseases is becoming one of the most serious health problems worldwide. In developing countries, especially, the health systems and medical resources are not yet enough fulfilled, so that it is very important to address the health problems through daily diet. This research focuses on the Himalayan area, high remote area, where the lifestyle-related diseases is currently increasing with rapid urbanization. Aim of this study is to evaluate the lifestyle-related diseases and its background through the dietary habits and suggest the possible intervention for its prevention. This study is designed with the new methodology, “Field Nutrition” research method; the combination research through nutritional assessment and cultural anthropology. For the nutritional assessment, newly developed tool; 11-item Food Diversity Score Kyoto, FDSK-11 is applied in addition to the basic nutritional assessment. Moreover, cultural background such as the traditional eating culture and its change, economic situation and food availability are evaluated in the community. This study tries to reveal the lifestyle-related diseases in the elderly population and its relation to nutritional situation and cultural backgrounds in the local population. Thus, some key factors to address the diseases through diet or lifestyle backgrounds will be suggested.