Study on the Dietary Behaviors of Some University Students in Gangwon-do using the Adult Nutrient Quotient (NQ) and Effect of Dietary Education
This study examined the nutritional status and dietary behaviors of university students in Gangwon-do as well as the effects of dietary education on them. Forty college students were recruited, and their dietary lifestyle was examined using an Adult NQ questionnaire before and after dietary education. The questionnaire items were grouped into four categories: balance, diversity, moderation, and dietary behavior. The mean NQ score out of 100 was 48.00. Among the three grades of the NQ grade criteria, most subjects (50%) were in the lowest grade, which was poor. The mean scores of the NQ factors were highest for moderation (68.76%), followed in order by diversity (50.81%), dietary behavior (45.66%), and balance (21.01%). Compared to the criterion value, moderation was only good, and balance was the worst. These results suggest that the nutritional status of the subjects is poor. On the other hand, there was a significant change in the areas of the NQ score (53.7), balance (29.22) and dietary behavior (56.77) after dietary education. Nevertheless, the ‘balance’ area remained lower than the average, highlighting the need for education on food intake to enable diverse food intake.