Faculty Members willing to take incoming graduate students

On the issues of lifestyle habits (e.g., physical activities and sedentary behaviors as well as sleeping patterns and diet) , nutritional condition and energy requirements of children, adults, and elderly, this course aims at learning methods of collecting and interpreting scientific knowledge, methods of evaluation and experiment planning, and interpretation of the analytical results. The course also aims at deepening understanding on the issues related to lifestyle habits and energy requirements and at enhancing analytical abilities to identify and resolve human growth related issues.

(1) Students will study the relationship between maternal nutrition (DHA; folic acid; vitamins A, D, and E; amino acids, etc.) during pregnancy and lactation periods, and the growth and development of fetuses, newborns, and infants.

(2) Students will study the relationship between the amount/quality of dietary fatty acids (saturation/n-6 and n-3/trans fatty acids, etc.) and lifestyle diseases (obesity, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, etc.), including the effects of gene polymorphisms.

(1)Changes in bone mass are influenced by lifestyle habits such as diet and exercise. From the perspectives of epidemiology and experimental nutrition, this course will extensively examine and discuss the influences of lifestyle and intake of minerals, including calcium, and vitamins D and K on bone mass in the growth to elderly stages in life.

(2)Absorption and use of calcium and several other minerals by humans, from the perspective of experimental nutrition;

(3)Involvement of athletes with nutrition, through research and interventional studies; and

(4)Lifestyles and physical conditions in the growth stage, in a longitudinal and cross-sectional manner.

This course focuses mainly on intervention (health and medical guidance) targeted at adults with lifestyle-related diseases. Students will systematically learn how to plan, implement, and evaluate interventions based on guidelines and other evidence as well as approaches to provide nutritional guidance depending on the patient’s condition. Main themes covered include metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, nursing care prevention and health guidance for the elderly aged 75 or over, and lifestyle-related disease control in the workplace (occupational health, health and productivity management).

Research in field of nutrition education aims at changing the dietary behaviors of the individual or population through effective communication and other activities to enhance QOL, health promotion, and disease prevention. Since the health and nutrition problems people face vary depending on their life-stage and lifestyle, we will conduct a research on effective nutrition education strategies based on behavioral science as well as exploring determinants that enabling or inhibiting behavioral changes. Researches will take place in the individual level, as well as the community level.

Community nutrition is a field of research focused on improving dietary environment in local communities and occupational settings. Specifically, this course will cover research on the methodology and evaluation of dietary environment improvement based on assessment of prioritized nutritional issues faced by local communities and workplace populations.

In this course, we will research nutrition and diet management of school lunches and dietary instructions from the viewpoint of a nutritional teacher.

Research on nutrition and diet management of school lunches concerns understanding the amount of food children consume and providing meals in accordance with the child’s body size and growth stage, as well as studying eating manners during school lunchtime. Research on dietary instructions involves developing teaching methods and materials during lunchtime and classes.

In this course, the process by which dietary factors develop into functional expression will be studied at the genetic level. The process of gene expression involves a number of transcription factors and chromosomal structural changes. These will be analyzed mainly by using molecular biological methods. In addition, we will analyze the mechanism of decreasing expression of lactose degradation enzymes in the weaning period.

This course aims to: (1) clarify the working mechanism of food components that are effective for health promotion and disease prevention using cultured cells and laboratory animals and (2) identify genes related to food habits and preferences and investigate their functions.

Based on human disease caused by genetic mutation, this course conducts research that will serve as a basis for obesity treatment. Using mouse models of human genetic disease that are exhibiting evident weight loss, we will elucidate the pathogenic mechanism through molecular biological and histopathological analyses to explore potential applications for obesity treatment.

This course aims at studying the social and cultural aspects of food (i.e., the significance of food to humans) from the anthropological perspective. We will conduct on-site surveys in the fields that are in line with the themes both in Japan and overseas and examine the findings obtained from the comparative cultural perspective.

Food communication is a field of study to understand people’s dietary lifestyles with a particular focus on relationships between people. Specifically, we will research children and their families to find out if eating alone or with family members is associated with their diet and health status, and how interaction with people through food in their childhood affects future health status and diet. We will also conduct research to verify the effectiveness of food communication activities implemented in Japan and overseas.

This course aims to study relationship between dietary life and the environment in terms of housing study and environmental education study. The following are the themes:

(1) Study on food environment such as coordinating dining space

(2) Theoretical study of relationship between dietary life and environmental issues, and study of educational contents and practical method. Exploration of food environmental education including environmental theory, legal system, economic systems, and culture from a viewpoint of ecologically sustainable development (ESD) in school education and social education.

Food components change during processing, maturation, and storage. Such change can result in improvement or deterioration of the quality of the food, making it very important to control the change. Our laboratory investigates the functionality of components contained in fermented condiments such as miso and soy sauce. Using chemical approaches, we study mechanisms that cause browning and functional components that are produced through transformation and interaction between sugars, amino acids, vitamins and polyphenol.

In this course, students will learn to prepare specific food-derived components and evaluate their efficacy as food ingredients. In addition to conducting in vitro tests to determine what food components exhibit high functionality in biological tissues and how the components change during processing and use, course participants will perform comparative analysis with known food components by building an experimental model system and conducting detailed analysis. They will further examine challenges that may arise in the manufacture and practical application of such components and propose appropriate solutions, toward the goal of developing, in cooperation with national research institutes and private companies, food ingredients that can be used to enhance food functionality and quality control.

The aim of this course is to acquire the knowledge, literacy, and social science-based approach to accurately understand and interpret related statistics and government/business information necessary to capture the true picture of today’s changing food manufacturing, distribution, and consumption, as well as agriculture and food service sectors from the perspective of food systems. On that basis, students will examine the current status and challenges facing food and agricultural policies and food businesses by studying case examples in dietary education, agriculture-welfare collaboration, and producer-consumer cooperation.

This course will conduct multifaceted analyses and examinations of changes to the physical properties, structures, and components of food ingredients caused by heating and cooking by taking physical and chemical measurements and sensory evaluations, and study the relation between the changes and palatability (especially in texture and taste). Also, the course will seek a scientific explanation of the changes in states of the food during the cooking process and examine cooking properties of food ingredients to study rational cooking methods.

Rational grounds are necessary to take appropriate measures against the influences of lifestyle and environmental factors on health. Instruction will be given on the following themes with the aim of conducting research that provides such evidence.

(1) Research on statistical analysis using epidemiological data, clinical data, etc.

(2) Research on the construction of methodologies and statistical models for health risk assessment

The acquisition of knowledge and techniques for accurate evaluation of human morphology and body composition is essential for understanding the mental and physical health status and performance of individuals and groups. Students enrolled in this program can conduct research from a diverse range of topics related to applications of anthropometry and body composition assessments on improvement of people's health and performance, as well as validation of these techniques.

(1) Research on development and evaluation of practical physical exercise methods for primary prevention of lifestyle-related diseases and frailty prevention.

(2) Research on health promotion focusing on physical exercise carried out in parks in Japan and overseas.

(3) Research on the relationship between continuous participation in sporting events and health.

Aiming to become a clinical laboratory technician who has a detailed knowledge of diabetes, each student will work to understand the causes, conditions, and classifications of diabetes and learns the latest tests, treatments, and analyses. To achieve this, each student will measure his/her own glycemic excursion and understands the reality of blood glucose management through the experience. In addition, students will study diabetes testing and guidance carried out in clinical practice and pursue how to act as a clinical laboratory technician.

Gene expression in intestinal cells often varies depending on dietary factors. This course aims at analyzing this phenomenon at the genetic level using model experimental systems, such as laboratory animals and cultured cell lines. An example is the changes in the expression of mineral transporter genes caused by indigestible carbohydrate intake.

The immune system is one of the important systems for maintaining biological homeostasis involved in the prevention of infection from pathogens and the development of ailments such as allergies. This course aims at undertaking researches on the immune response to microorganisms, which are widely present around us (e.g., in the environment and foods), and their influences on the immune system when consumed, as well as on the infection-fighting functions (e.g., activation of mucosal immunity and antibody production) and immunomodulation properties.

(1) Research on the current analysis of and countermeasures for various issues related to school health and school health nursing/caregiving.

(2) Research on youth health issues and assessment of school nurse teachers.

(3) Research on methods and systems (proposals and developments) for solving problems and developing health observation, health counseling (including health counseling activities), and health guidance conducted in the field of school health or by school nurse teachers.

(4) Research on the use of information and communication technologies in school health

On the issues of nutritional condition (e.g., obesity and underweight) and lifestyle habits (e.g., physical activities, sedentary behaviors, sleeping patterns and diet) of children, students will learn methods of collecting and interpreting scientific knowledge, methods of evaluation and experiment planning, and how to interpret the results. Through these activities the students will work to understand the issues related to children’s obesity and lifestyle habits and to improve their abilities to identify and solve issues.

Today's schools are places where multi-layered welfare problems, including poverty, abuse, and developmental disabilities, are concentrated. On the basis of schools, which serve as junctions between home and community, this course aims to study theories and methods to recognize the two-way interaction between the welfare function of education and the educational function of welfare clearly, and thereby allow the responsible persons, such as schoolteachers and social workers, to perform practical skills. Research guidance will be provided for practical contemplation of how to proceed with future cooperation between schools and communities.

(1) Basic examination of dietary reference intakes centered on minerals.

(2) Relationship between milk/dairy products and health is analyzed through epidemiological and interventional studies.

(3) Relationship between sports and nutrition, mainly on anemia and stress fractures, will be reviewed and analyzed.

(4) The lifestyle and physical conditions during the growth period will examined from cross-sectional and longitudinal perspectives

(1) Research on nutritional management using food management according to each life stage

(2) Research on nutritional management systems at food service facilities

(3) Research on food service management at  food service facilities

(1) Research on community nutrition activities, policy planning and evaluation

(2) Research on the use of processed foods regarding the quality of nutritional balance in meals

(3) Research on improvement of food environments

Students work to build theories on the above themes, present practical methodologies, and develop nutrition policy proposals.

(1) Students will study the relationship between the amount/quality of dietary fatty acids and gene polymorphisms, lifestyle diseases (obesity, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, etc.), and the body’s metabolism.

(2)Students will study the relationship between maternal nutrition (DHA;, folic acid;, vitamins A, D, and E;, amino acids, etc.) during pregnancy and lactation periods, and the growth and development of fetuses, newborns, and infants.

Research on the relationship between dietary habit and the living environment in terms of housing study and environmental education study. The following are the themes:

(1) Study on food environment such as coordinating dining space

(2) Theoretical study on relationship between dietary habit and living environmental, and study on educational contents and class practice application. Exploration of food environmental education including environmental ethics, legal system, economic systems, and culture from a viewpoint of education for sustainable development (ESD) in school education and social education.

With the aim of efficient use of data that serves as scientific bases in the field of health science, we will conduct research in the following themes.

(1) Research on statistical analysis using epidemiological data, public statistics, etc.

(2) Research on the application of advanced statistical methods in the field of health sciences

(3) Research on the development of methodologies for evaluating health risks in local communities

(4) Study on statistical models for the integration of evidence in health sciences

(1) Research on development and evaluation of practical physical exercise methods for frailty prevention

(2) Research on the utilization and effects of exercise equipment installed in city parks for health-improvement purposes

(3) Research on multimedia development to support exercise guidance by citizen volunteer supporters