Effective for picky eaters!? ~ We sang "Gohan Hanhan," a song about thinking about eating, with the kids!

Today, October 16th, is World Food Day, designated by the United Nations. It's a day to encourage more people to learn about, think about, and take action on global food issues. Accordingly, October is designated as "World Food Day" month.

Dentsu Inc. collaborated with NPOs, NGOs, and international organizations (*) to create the song "Gohan Hanhan: A Song About Thinking About Eating" for this year's World Food Day month. It's available on a special website.

Food is a theme close to everyone's heart, and families raising children often face the immediate challenge of "picky eating."

To understand how children's eating behaviors change before and after listening to this song, a field experiment was conducted at Kanto Gakuin Nobinobi Nobanobien in Kanagawa Prefecture, supervised by Associate Professor Yoko Suga from the Department of Nutrition at Kanto Gakuin University. The results were announced today on the special website (midway down the linked page).

According to the findings, many kindergarteners reported feelings like "I'm hungry," "Eating is fun," and "Food tastes better when we eat together" after singing and dancing. Changes were observed in their picky eating habits and reactions when served disliked foods.

 

The choreography is designed to be easy for children to learn and enjoy, making it suitable for kindergartens, nurseries, elementary schools, and homes.

In pilot studies, singing and dancing to this song led to changes such as "less picky eating" and "children eating foods they previously disliked." The result was many children experiencing the "happiness of eating together."

Associate Professor Suga commented, "Teachers at the kindergarten reported, 'When the song plays, they get really into it, dancing and singing along.' Parents also mentioned, 'They dance to it at home too.' By dancing and singing along to this upbeat song with choreography, the children's appetites likely increased. Exposure to familiar food names in the lyrics and questions probably heightened their interest in food."

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Kanto Gakuin University, Faculty of Nutrition, Associate Professor Yoko Suga
Ph.D. (Sports Medicine), Registered Dietitian.
Completed her doctoral program at the University of Tsukuba in 2007. Since that year, she has been involved in developing exercise nutrition programs and health consulting services for middle-aged and elderly individuals at Tsukuba Wellness Research. She joined Kanto Gakuin University in 2012, where she is engaged in student education and research on weight loss program development.

DJ Miso Shiru and MC Gohan
A super homemade rapper proposing new ways to enjoy cooking and music under the motto "Delicious food is a miracle of humanity!" Despite the confusing name, it's one person. Made their major debut in winter 2013. They've also made their way onto the lineup of major festivals like FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL. Since spring 2014, they've been hosting the "Music × Cooking" program "Gochisong DJ" on NHK E-TV.

Keroponz
Formed in June 1999. The super duo of Kero (Yuko Masuda) and Pon (Akiko Hirata). They perform all-over-the-place stages filled with laughter, songs, and anything goes—enjoyable for parents and kids alike—across the nation. Major works include the CD "Ebikanix." They provide play songs for NHK E-TV's "Okaasan to Issho," appear on BS Nippon TV's "Soreike! Anpanman Club," and are active in a wide range of fields.