O27 Appreciation for Food Mediates the Association of Meal-Related Rituals Learned in Childhood with Avoiding Food Waste Behavior in Japanese Adults

Background Saying the words “Itadakimasu” and “Gochisosama” is a common Japanese ritual at the beginning and end of a meal. Many Japanese parents and educators communicate to children to express appreciation for food on a daily basis through these words, and they habitually connect these rituals to further education to avoid food waste to children. Objective This study aimed to examine whether appreciation for food mediates the association of meal-related rituals learned in childhood with the avoidance of food waste behavior among Japanese adults. Study Design, Setting, Participants Four hundred Japanese adults participated in the web-based cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Measurable Outcome/Analysis The following information was included in the questionnaire: participants’ background (age, sex, BMI, household size, subjective social status, and dietary change from a year ago), present avoiding food waste behaviors (measured by a sub-scale of validated “sustainable and healthy eating behaviors” questionnaire; 3 items), present appreciation for food (measured by a sub-scale of the Mindful Eating Inventory; 3 items), rituals before and after the meal in childhood (1 item), and advice from parents or educators to refrain from leaving food in childhood (1 item). Mediation analyses with percentile-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals were conducted to calculate the indirect effects adjusted for participants’ background. Results The participants’ mean (SD) age and BMI were 40.0 (11.6) years and 21.9 (3.9) kg/m2, respectively (female = 50.0%). The mean (SD) score of avoiding food waste was 16.0 (4.08; range: 7–21). Appreciation for food mediated the association between meal-related rituals before and after the meal (indirect effects fully adjusted models: B = 0.085, 95% CI = 0.009–0.184) and advice by parents or educators to refrain from leaving food (B = 0.101, 95% CI = 0.016–0.221) and avoiding food waste behavior. Conclusion Learning experiences from childhood seem to have an influence on present food waste behavior and are mediated by appreciation for food.