This study was conducted to assess the recognition and consumption of meal alone and processed food according to major of college students in Seoul Metropolitan area and Chungcheong province, Republic of Korea. To accomplish this, a survey was conducted to investigate 353 college students (171 food & nutrition majors and 182 non-majors) regarding their general characteristics, dietary behaviors, meal alone issues, and the purchase and consumption of processed food. Most major and non-major students skipped breakfast. The main reason for skipping was not having time. Majors and non-majors put great importance on their lunch and evening meal, respectively. Nutrition information routes for majors were ‘college class’ (62.5%) and ‘TV radio’ (17.5%). However, the routes for non-majors to obtain nutrition information were ‘internet smart phones’ (41.1%) and ‘TV radio’ (28.3%). These results suggest the need to provide correct information concerning nutrition to college students. Most major and non-major students tend to have 0 to 2 times of meal alone per week. The main reason for meal alone was schedule unsuitable for eating with family or friends. The most critical factors for majors and non-majors when they chose menu to have meal alone were personal taste and money, respectively. The primary consideration for choosing processed food was price and the main purchase route was convenience store. The main reason for consuming processed food was easy-to-cook. Of processed foods, the most favored ones were noodles and fish products. Meal alone frequency was positively correlated with age (p<0.05), grade (p<0.05) and monthly allowance (p<0.05). Preference and consumption frequency of processed food were negatively correlated with concern about nutrition (p<0.05) and meal frequency (p<0.05), respectively. Based on these results, greater efforts should be made to provide meaningful information regarding programs for nutrition education to improve their dietary habits. Research and development of processed food specifically for college students eating alone should be increased.

• 최병범(신한대학교 식품조리과학부 식품영양전공) | Byung Bum Choi Corresponding author