【Summer Dining White Paper 2026】Triple Crisis of Heatwaves, Rising Prices, and School Meal Waste—The Persistent 'Nutritional Gap' of Summer: 'We Know, But We Can't Do It.'

Noguchi Medical Research Institute, Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Daisaku Tsutsumi) supports public health through the manufacturing of health foods and supplements under its philosophy of 'Beauty and health that empathizes with the heart.' Recognizing the growing gap between ideal and actual dietary habits caused by record-breaking heatwaves, soaring food prices, and school meal waste during summer vacations, the company conducted the '2026 Survey on Summer Dining and Nutritional Balance' on June 26, 2026, targeting 1,800 men and women aged 20 and above across Japan, just before the summer break on July 14, 2026.

Japan has recorded the hottest summers in history in both 2023 and 2024. While many people express a desire to 'maintain balanced nutrition,' the combination of heat-induced cooking avoidance and appetite loss, reduced meal variety due to rising ingredient costs, and school meal waste during summer holidays has made it increasingly difficult to achieve ideal eating habits year after year. In this survey, approximately two out of three respondents (66.5%) said they 'sometimes feel unable to maintain nutritional balance despite wanting to,' clearly revealing the reality of a 'nutritional gap'—awareness without action.

【Survey Overview】

・Survey Name: 2026 Survey on Summer Dining and Nutritional Balance

・Survey Period: June 26, 2026

・Survey Organization: Noguchi Medical Research Institute (Survey conducted by Freeasy)

・Target Respondents: Men and women aged 20 and above nationwide (those involved in preparing meals for themselves or their families)

・Valid Responses: 1,800 samples

・Survey Method: Online survey (using a panel survey company)

① Survey Summary

【Two in Three Say 'We Know, But We Can't Do It'—The Reality of the Nutritional Gap】 66.5% of respondents said they 'sometimes feel unable to maintain nutritional balance despite wanting to,' highlighting the growing gap between awareness and practice in modern dietary habits. Notably, 22.7% felt that 'maintaining nutritional balance is especially difficult in summer,' indicating that this 'nutritional gap' tends to widen during this season.

【The Ideal vs. Reality of Breakfast—A 'Double Nutritional Divide' in Summer】 49.7% of respondents (about one in two) cited 'balanced meals' as their ideal breakfast. However, the actual rate of balanced meal consumption during summer dropped to 26.3% (about one in four), nearly halving. Furthermore, 26.2% of respondents reported eating only 'staple foods' (e.g., one slice of bread) or 'light meals' (e.g., drinks only) during summer, revealing a more than two-fold gap between ideal and reality.

【The 'Double Burden' of Inflation and Heatwaves—How Dining Tables Have Changed】 70.0% of respondents said rising prices 'have affected' their meal content. The top impacts included 'reduced frequency of purchasing fresh vegetables and fruits (28.9%),' 'reduced consumption of fish and seafood (23.0%),' and 'reduced intake of dairy products (11.7%).' This confirms a tendency to first eliminate vitamin and mineral-rich ingredients. Additionally, there is significant overlap with those who feel their diet has changed due to extreme heat (45.8%), suggesting that the combination of both factors makes nutritional imbalance more severe.

② 'We Know, But We Can't Do It'—The Structure of the Nutritional Gap in Modern Diets

The Awareness-Practice Gap—Three 'Ideal vs. Reality' Scenarios

This survey identified three key areas where gaps exist between dietary awareness and actual practice.

Gap 1: Breakfast—One in Four Eat Only 'Staples or Light Meals' in Summer While 49.7% of respondents cited 'meals with staple, main, and side dishes (Japanese or Western-style set meals)' as their ideal breakfast, 14.5% reported eating only 'staple foods' (e.g., one slice of bread, one rice ball) and 11.7% reported eating only 'light meals' (e.g., yogurt, fruit, drinks). The difference between the ideal balanced meal rate (49.7%) and the actual summer rate (26.3%) reached 23.33 percentage points (approximately a two-fold gap). A top reason for simplified breakfasts in summer was 'lack of energy or motivation to cook due to heat (10.4%),' revealing how record-breaking heatwaves are degrading breakfast quality.

Gap 2: Awareness of Nutrients—The Trap of 'Selective Focus' Caused by Health Information While a majority (46.8%) cited 'protein-rich foods' as the nutrients or ingredients they pay attention to, only 14.7% said they 'try to include as many ingredients and dishes as possible at every meal (focusing on overall balance).' While awareness of specific nutrients is rising, the 'teamwork' perspective—where nutrients complement each other—has not yet fully taken root.

Gap 3: Variety on the Dining Table—The Barrier of 'Multiple-Item Intake' Due to High Prices Only 14.7% of respondents said they regularly practice 'multiple-item intake,' the foundation of balanced meals. Only 22.1% said they 'don’t particularly pay attention to anything' in their diet, meaning about 80% have some health awareness. Yet, over half (56.0%) cited 'high ingredient prices' as the biggest barrier to including sufficient ingredients and dishes. Additionally, factors such as 'lack of motivation due to inconvenience (26.3%)' and 'uncertainty about what and how much to eat (26.1%)' compound the issue. Economic and physical constraints make 'multiple-item intake'—something people understand—difficult to practice, revealing the real struggles of modern dining tables.

The Truth Behind 'We Know, But We Can't Do It'

The common thread across the three gaps is the disconnect between the awareness that 'ideal nutritional balance is known' and the reality that 'structural constraints make practice difficult.' It is not a lack of personal effort, but modern environmental factors—heatwaves, inflation, and time shortages—that are pushing people away from ideal eating habits.

Notably, differences in nutritional struggles were observed based on whether respondents had children. The proportion who said 'maintaining nutritional balance is especially difficult in summer' jumped to 25.7% (about one in four) among households with children, compared to 19.6% among those without. Data confirms the heavy psychological burden unique to parenting households: 'I could eat simply if it were just for myself, but I can’t do that for my children.'

③ Recent Heatwaves and Price Hikes Accelerate 'Simplification of Dining Tables'

Decline in Cooking Motivation—Women Are 2.2 Times More Affected Than Men: The Harsh Reality of the Kitchen

In this survey, 45.8% of respondents (about one in two) felt that recent summer heat has caused 'some change' in their meal content.

The most common specific changes were 'increased consumption of noodles and cold foods (20.4%)' and 'reduced motivation and physical energy for cooking due to heat (17.3%).' When broken down by gender, 10.7% of men reported reduced cooking motivation, compared to 23.5% of women—a gap of approximately 2.2 times. Furthermore, 'avoiding cooking with fire (22.4% of women vs. 11.9% of men)' indicates that the physical limits of women—the primary meal preparers—are directly triggering the scarcity and imbalance of summer dining tables.

Inflation Fixes 'Omitted Foods'—Even 30% of High-Income Households Reduce Vegetable and Fruit Purchases

The most frequently cited impact of inflation was 'reduced frequency of purchasing fresh vegetables and fruits (28.9%),' followed by