The purposes of this study were to investigate the eating of breakfast by female middle school students in Seoul, the perception of the school breakfast program (SBP), and determine the factors affecting the intention to participate in SBP. Out of 340 questionnaires distributed to the female middle school students, 334 were returned (98.2% response rate) and 323 were analyzed. The subjects were categorized into two groups by the intention to participate in SBP. Subjects were classified as participating and non participating groups. As a result of analyzing the breakfast intake frequency, 'hardly eat' showed the highest with 18.5% in the participating group and 10.3% in non participating group, while 'eat every day' showed 38.2% in the participating group, and the highest with 65.5% in non participating group (p<0.001). For the reason for skipping breakfast, 'no time' showed the highest with 30.0% in the participating group, 'over sleep' and 'no appetite' showed the highest with 24.8% in non participating group. For the reason for not participating in SBP, 'breakfast should be eaten at home' showed the highest with 47.2% in non participating group and 'may get up early in the morning' showed the highest with 46.2% in participating group (p<0.01). To determine the factors affecting the intention to participate in SBP, logistic regression analyses were conducted for female middle school students. According to the logistic regression analysis, father's education level was independently associated with the intention to participate in SBP in female middle school students [Odds Ratios (OR) 2.38, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.03~5.52]. Frequency of eating breakfast on weekdays (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.01~1.81), Level of need for school breakfast (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.35~0.76) and whether to approve school breakfast (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.18~0.41) were independently associated with the intention to participate in SBP in female middle school students. In conclusion, proper educational efforts for importance of school breakfast could be useful plan to develop school breakfast program.

• 이애랑(숭의여자대학교 식품영양과) | Lee, Ae-Rang