Mindful Eating Proficiency and Healthy Eating Literacy among Japanese Mothers: Associations with Their Own and Their Children’s Eating Behavior

Mindfulness is a process of focusing one’s attention on the present moment. Applying this concept to eating (i.e., mindful eating (ME)) is associated with regulated eating behaviors, particularly in people with obesity and who are overweight. Sustaining healthy eating habits requires both healthy eating literacy (HEL) and proficiency in ME. However, ME proficiency in Japanese people has not been sufficiently investigated. In this paper, we conduct a survey of mothers with 4- to 5-year-old children in Aomori City, Japan, to investigate their ME proficiency and HEL level and eating behavior and self-reported body mass index in both mothers and their children from August to September 2019. This study is the first to describe ME proficiency in Japanese mothers. The study sample includes 128 participants from 18 nursery schools. ME proficiency in mothers was positively correlated with both their own and their children’s eating behaviors, thereby suggesting a potential relationship, while strong relationships were not observed between the HEL level and eating behaviors of mothers and children. Improving ME skills, rather than HEL, may be an effective way to sustain healthier eating behaviors in mothers and their children. The level of evidence was Level V: Opinions of respected authorities based on descriptive studies, narrative reviews, clinical experience, or reports of expert committees.

Cervical Cancer Protection in Japan: Where Are We?

In Japan, government subsidies for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination of girls aged 13–16 commenced in 2010. By early 2013, vaccination had become a widely accepted national immunization program. However, in June of 2013, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW), the government’s lead agency, suspended its recommendation for vaccination in response to reports of adverse vaccine events. The rate of HPV vaccination quickly dropped from 70% to almost zero, where it has lingered for eight years. In 2020, a new 9-valent HPV vaccine was licensed in Japan. The momentum seemed to be building for the resumption of HPV vaccinations, yet Japanese mothers remain widely hesitant about vaccinating their daughters, despite the well-proven safety and efficacy of the HPV vaccines. The Japanese government and our educational and medical institutions must work harder as a team to inform our parents and their children about the life-saving benefits of the HPV vaccine, and at the same time, we must respond to all their concerns and questions. The vaccine hesitancy of unvaccinated women born in 2000 and thereafter is a natural consequence of the suspension of the government‘s recommendation. We must also take every possible measure to reduce the significant risk for cervical cancer these women have.

Comparison of Japanese and Scottish Mother–Infant Intersubjectivity: Resonance of Timing, Anticipation, and Empathy During Feeding

Feeding involves communication between mothers and infants and requires precise synchrony in a special triadic relationship with the food. It is deeply related to their intersubjectivity. This study compared the development of mother–infant intersubjectivity through interactional synchrony in feeding between 11 Japanese and 10 Scottish mother–infant dyads, observed at 6 and 9 months by video. Japanese mothers were more deliberate in feeding at an earlier age, whereas Scottish mothers were significantly more coercive than Japanese mothers at an earlier age. Japanese mothers brought the spoon to infants with a pause to adjust the timing of insertion to match their infants’ readiness, whereas this pause was not observed in Scottish mothers. Isomorphic mouth opening between mothers and infants was observed. This empathic maternal display is an important element of intersubjectivity in infant feeding that differed between Scottish and Japanese mothers. Scottish mothers’ mouth opening always followed their infants’ mouth opening, but about half of Japanese mothers preceded their infants. Further, the mouths of Scottish infants and mothers opened almost at the same time as spoon insertion. In contrast, Japanese mothers’ mouth opening did not co-occur with the insertion but was close to spoon arrival, a subtle but important difference that allows for greater infant autonomy. The time structure of Scottish mother-infant interactions was simpler and more predictable at 9 months than in Japan, where the structure was more variable, likely due to a stronger regulation by Scottish mothers. In conclusion, Scottish mother-infant intersubjectivity is characterized as more maternally reactive and mother-centered, whereas Japanese mother-infant intersubjectivity is characterized as more maternally empathetic and infant-centered. Cultural differences in intersubjectivity during feeding between Japan and Scotland are further discussed in relation to triadic relationships and parenting styles.

Stereotypical Questions In The Organization Of The Process Of Teaching Children By Japanese Mothers

In the 1960s, for women raising children, the media called the phrase "教育 マ マ " "kyoiku mama" a "mentor for company employees." This includes mothers who act with great responsibility to "successfully pass the rigorous competitive tests required for children, especially boys, to enter high school or college." In Japanese society, the phrase "a father who parenting children" did not appear. It was the "mother of upbringing" "mother Kyoiku" who became a social phenomenon. In this article, Kyoiku mama ("教育 マ マ ") is a phraseological phrase that literally translates as "parenting mother." In this article, Kyoiku's mom is viewed as a stereotypical figure exploring maternal parenting for education of children in modern Japanese society. It also analyzes the impact and power of stereotypes on education problems in Japan. The article highlights the stereotypes about education in Japan, on the one side, the development of highly qualified young people in Japan, and on the other side, the stress of Japanese children due to the "hell of exams."

The COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: Its impact on a newborn’s childcare environment and on the mother’s sense of loneliness

Background: The COVID-imposed social isolation of Japanese mothers has significantly increased their already existing sense of loneliness. We report here on the changes that have occurred in the environment of home childcare and in the mother’s feelings of loneliness during the pandemic and we compare these findings with results from a similar previous study we conducted in 2019. Methods: In 2019, we conducted an online survey of mothers who had infants aged 4-12 months. Many of the survey questions at that time concerned the home childcare environment and the mother’s sense of loneliness. In 2020, during the height of this COVID pandemic, we conducted a follow-up COVID impact survey using the same questionnaire, of a different group mothers, again having infants of 4-12 months, to determine the impact of the pandemic on the mothers of extra-vulnerable young children. Results: The number of women who consulted with their friends or neighbors about childcare during the pandemic had decreased from the more normal times of early 2019, whereas in 2020 there was an increase in the number who consulted with their mother. The mother’s method of gathering childrearing information had shifted away from the face-to-face focus of 2019 to a habit of calling a municipal health center or using social-networking-services (SNS) as a reference. The rate was decreased of a mothers’ frequency of interaction with other parents having children at home as old as their own child. Overall, the number of mothers who felt loneliness was significantly increased. Conclusions: Because of the impact on mothers of the COVID pandemic, specifically around their methods of gathering information concerning childcare, we found that the child-rearing 3 environment in Japan has detrimentally changed since early 2019. Whether or not the mother felt stressed or felt they lacked sufficient information concerning childcare was associated with having an impact on the mother’s sense of loneliness. The importance of the appropriate transmission of information concerning childcare had increased due to this pandemic, so we need to take aggressive actions to help these mothers of small children to prevent harm and tragedies from occurring to the children in their care.

Mindful Eating Proficiency and Healthy Eating Literacy in Japanese Mothers: Associations with Their Own and Their Children’s Eating Behavior

Purpose Mindfulness is a psychological process that can be developed using meditation and other types of training to focus on the present moment. Applying this concept to eating (i.e., mindful eating; ME) is associated with regulated eating behavior, especially in overweight or obese people. Sustaining healthy eating habits requires both healthy eating literacy (HEL) and proficiency in ME. However, ME proficiency in Japanese people has not been sufficiently investigated. Methods We conducted a survey of mothers with 4 to 5-year-old children in Aomori City, Japan, to investigate their ME proficiency and HEL level, as well as eating behavior and self-reported body mass index in both mothers and their children. This study was the first to describe ME proficiency in Japanese mothers. Results ME proficiency in mothers was positively correlated with both their own and their children’s eating behaviors, suggesting a potential relationship, while strong relationships were not observed between the HEL level and eating behaviors of mothers and children. Conclusion Improving ME skills, rather than HEL, may be an effective way to sustain healthier eating behaviors in mothers and their children. Level of evidence: Level I, Evidence obtained from experimental studies