This study was conducted to investigate the eating habits and food preferences of elementary school children belong to multi-cultural families and ordinary families. The data were obtained by interview based on questionnaire from November to December in 2012. The subjects of multi-cultural families and ordinary families were 99 and 376 children, respectively. In comparison with eating habits, the ordinary children showed higher scoring in the items of eating proteins, green and yellow vegetables, and fruits or fruit juice than those of multi-cultural children. The ordinary children ate less midnight-meals than those of multi-cultural children (p<0.05). Furthermore, the ordinary children ate kimchi more frequently than the multi-cultural children. It was significantly different (p<0.05) on the items of ‘eating-out types’ dietary habits between two groups. Education of mothers correlated with the ordinary children’s eating habits more than multi-cultural families. In the investigation of the food preference to Korean foods, ‘beef and radish soup’, ‘pumpkin porridge’, and ‘wheat flakes noodles’ were more preferred by children of ordinary families than by those of multi-cultural families (p<0.05). To conclude, nutritional education for their parents should be done and maintained to keep a right eating habit of children of multi-cultural families even at home.

The purpose of this study is to investigate 5th grade elementary school girls’ effort to recognize and use nutritional labels on processed foods and restaurant meals to encourage dietary behavior. The subjects (n=976) were divided into three groups (effort group, n=711; normal group, n=193; and no-effort group, n=72) depending on level of effort for the healthy dietary behavior such as eating balanced meals, eating three meals regularly, and eating meals slowly. In the effort group, the frequency of food intake for breads, ramen, noodles and fast foods was significantly lower, while frequency of food intake for fruits and vegetables and salad was significantly higher than in the other two groups. In the effort group, the ratio of the respondents that perception of nutrition labeling on processed foods and restaurant meals was 80.5% and 31.4% and the ratio of girls who checked the nutrition labeling at their point of purchase was 71.1% and 24.7%, respectively. Reasons given for not reading nutrition labeling for restaurant meals were ‘not interested’ for 34.6% of the effort group, and 52.2% of the no-effort group. Therefore, it is necessary to create an educational program on healthy dietary behavior, including how to read nutrition labeling and establishment of proper body image perception for elementary school girls.

The purpose of this study is the examination of stress levels and the eating habits that are affected by stress, and the provision of basic nutritional education data for the improvement of the eating habits of students who have experienced stress-related nutritional problems. Using the BEPSI-K instruments, a questionnaire survey was administered to 327 student subjects (166 male and 161 female) in the areas of Seoul and Gangwon province. The subjects were classified into 3 groups (low-stress, medium-stress and high-stress), and 59 students (18%) belonged the high-stress group. The BMI readings of the Gangwon province students are significantly higher than those of the Seoul students. The survey results show that the lunch frequency and vegetable intake levels are lower in the high-stress group, whereas the intakes of hot spicy food is higher in this group; they also show that Gangwon province students had eating habits that are relatively undesirable compared with the Seoul students. There are significant differences between the Seoul students and Gangwon porvince students regarding residence type, household economic level, types of leisure activities and level of some stresses. The Gangwon province students ate occasionally breakfast, lunch and snacks, but their midnight snack consumption is relatively frequent compared with the Seoul students. The results of the survey indicate that the BEPSI-K score has a negative correlation with the following variables : sleeping time, economic level of household, degrees of satisfaction regarding appearance and academic achievements, lunch frequency and vegetable intakes. Desirable eating habits are essential for the maintenance of a favorable health status and for the stress-management of university students who need to be a healthy members of society in the near future. To facilitate the formation of desirable eating habits among university students, community-based nutritional assistance and appropriate nutritional education programs should be considered necessary.

The purpose of this study is the examination of stress levels and the eating habits that are affected by stress, and the provision of basic nutritional education data for the improvement of the eating habits of students who have experienced stress-related nutritional problems. Using the BEPSI-K instruments, a questionnaire survey was administered to 327 student subjects (166 male and 161 female) in the areas of Seoul and Gangwon province. The subjects were classified into 3 groups (low-stress, medium-stress and high-stress), and 59 students (18%) belonged the high-stress group. The BMI readings of the Gangwon province students are significantly higher than those of the Seoul students. The survey results show that the lunch frequency and vegetable intake levels are lower in the high-stress group, whereas the intakes of hot spicy food is higher in this group; they also show that Gangwon province students had eating habits that are relatively undesirable compared with the Seoul students. There are significant differences between the Seoul students and Gangwon porvince students regarding residence type, household economic level, types of leisure activities and level of some stresses. The Gangwon province students ate occasionally breakfast, lunch and snacks, but their midnight snack consumption is relatively frequent compared with the Seoul students. The results of the survey indicate that the BEPSI-K score has a negative correlation with the following variables : sleeping time, economic level of household, degrees of satisfaction regarding appearance and academic achievements, lunch frequency and vegetable intakes. Desirable eating habits are essential for the maintenance of a favorable health status and for the stress-management of university students who need to be a healthy members of society in the near future. To facilitate the formation of desirable eating habits among university students, community-based nutritional assistance and appropriate nutritional education programs should be considered necessary.

The purposes of this study were to determine health consciousness and eating habits of dining business owners from Seongnam city. To figure out their health levels, this study focused on quality of sleep, current state of health, health care, smoking, drinking, regular exercise, working hours, dietary behavior pattern, dietary habits, and food intakes patterns. Out of 200 subjects, 104 (52.0%) were males and 96 (48.0%) were females. Their average age was 46.60. For education level, a majority of males graduated from college, whereas a majority of females graduated from high school. Average combined ratios of overweight and obese were 62.5% for males and 25% for females. A majority worked less than 3 years in the dining business area, but 37% of subjects worked more than 10 years. Average health level was favorable, but 38.9% of subjects had hypertension. Males' percentages for smoking and drinking were higher than those of females. Regular physical activity was high, but regular exercise rate was low. Males' average eating speed was faster than that of females and had low scores for desirable eating habits. The study shows that local business owners need to take care of their health.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sodium-related dietary attitudes, behaviors, and nutritional knowledge in university students according to the practice of dietary guidelines for Koreans established by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea. Based on the total practice score related to the dietary guidelines (PDG), we classified subjects into a “low practice of the dietary guidelines (LPDG)” group (n=94, male=43, female=51) (total score of PDG ≤13) and a “high practice of the dietary guidelines (HPDG)” group (n=56, male=32, female=24) (total score of PDG >13). Subjects were asked about general characteristics, lifestyle, salt-related dietary attitudes, behaviors, and nutritional knowledge using a questionnaire. The LPDG group had more subjects who were breakfast skippers (p<0.001) compared to the HPDG group. The LPDG group (31.26) had a significantly lower score in terms of salt-related dietary attitudes compared to the HPDG group (33.77) (p=0.0042). The score for salt-related dietary attitudes was significantly higher in the HPDG (32.52) group than in the LPDG (29.91) group (p=0.0041). There was no significant difference in the total score for salt-related nutrition knowledge between the groups. The correlation analysis indicated that the dietary guidelines practice score had a positive correlation with the salt-related dietary attitude score (r=0.3593, p<0.0001) and the dietary attitude score (r=0.3443, p<0.0001) after adjustments for sex. These results show that the degree of adherence to the dietary guidelines for adults may be related to sodium-related dietary attitudes, behaviors, and nutrition knowledge.

본 연구는 노원구 S대에 재학 중인 남자 대학생을 대상으 로 lacto-ovo-vegetarian과 non-vegetarian으로 나누어 신체계측, 건강상태, 식습관 및 영양소 섭취상태를 비교하여 건강에 대 한 기초 자료로 사용하고자 실시하였다. 1. Lacto-ovo vegetarian과 non-vegetarian의 신장은 차이가 없 었지만, 체중은 non-vegetarian에서 유의하게 높았다(p<0.05). 2. Lacto-ovo vegetarian은 종교적인 이유로 채식을 하고 있 었으며, 영양학적으로 채식 식사의 만족도는 86.0%를 차지하 였다. 3. Lacto-ovo vegetarian과 non-vegetarian은 건강에 대한 관 심도와 영양제 복용율은 낮은 편이었으며, 운동을 하는 비율 은 lacto-ovo vegetarian 64.0%와 non-vegetarian 61.4%가 한다고 답하였다. 4. Lacto-ovo vegetarian은 non-vegetarian에 비해 식사를 규 칙적으로 하였으며, 매일 아침식사를 하는 비율이 높았다. 또 한 전체 조사대상자들은 모두 외식을 한다고 답하였으며, 외 식 시 선호하는 음식으로는 한식을 선호하는 것으로 조사되 었다. 5. Lacto-ovo vegetarian은 non-vegetarian에 비해 우유나 유 제품(요구르트, 요플레 등)을 매일 1병 이상 마시는 점, 김치 이외의 채소를 식사할 때마다 먹는 점, 과일(1개)이나 과일주 스(1잔)를 매일 먹는 점, 식사는 매일 세끼를 규칙적으로 한 다는 점 및 모든 식품을 골고루 섭취하는 점에 대해 높은 경 향을 보였다. 이에 비해 non-vegetarian은 달걀, 콩 및 두부 등 으로 된 음식을 끼니마다 먹는 점과 튀김이나 기름에 볶는 요리를 주 2회 이상 먹는 점이 높은 경향을 보였다. 6. Lacto-ovo vegetarian의 경우, 에너지, 비타민 B2, B6 및 니아신 섭취율이 낮은 반면에, 식이섬유는 충분히 섭취하고 있었다. 그러나 non-vegetarian은 식이섬유는 부족하게 섭취 하였으나, 소디움, 콜레스테롤 등의 영양소는 과잉 섭취하는 것으로 조사되었다. 따라서 본 연구 결과를 종합해 보면, 건강관련사항이나 식 습관에 있어서는 두 군 간에 큰 차이는 없었지만, 영양소 섭 취상태에서는 lacto-ovo vegetarian과 non-vegetarian에 있어서 유의한 차이를 보였다. Lacto-ovo vegetarian의 경우에는 육류 나 생선 섭취를 하지 않는 것을 고려하여 열량을 비롯한 다른 영양소의 섭취를 충분히 할 수 있도록 신중한 식사계획이 필 요하며, 식품교환표를 이용한 대체식품의 이용률을 증가시켜 야 할 것으로 사료된다. 또한 non-vegetarian의 경우는 지속적 인 영양소의 과잉 섭취로 인한 건강상의 문제점이 발생되지 않도록 노력해야 할 것이다.

The purpose of this study was to investigate improvement of food habits and eating behavior in children with obesity andprecocious puberty by nutritional education monitoring. The results are as follows. Average height and weight of subjectsexceeded Korean height and weight standards for children as outlined by The Korea Pediatric Society. Using nutritioneducation monitoring, meals became more regular, overeating significantly decreased, and eating speed decreased. Further,frequencies of eating-out and night-eating significantly decreased. The most preferred menu item when eating-out wasKorean food, and the most preferred menu item for night-eating was fruits, fast food, & processed food. Meat & fish andvegetable intakes all significantly increased. Fruit and milk intakes also significantly increased while bread, snack, and icecream intakes decreased. Further, fast food & instant food intakes decreased. However, water intake was not significantlyaffected. The favorite food of children was meat & fish, followed by fast food & processed food. This study may provideinformation on dietary behavior of children with obesity and precocious puberty and suggests that nutrition education orcounseling can improve food habits and eating behavior.

The purpose of this study was to compare weight control behaviour, eating habits, and health-related life habits accordingto degree of obesity among normal, overweight, and obese groups. Self-perception of weight and desire for weight controlin males (p<0.001) and females (p<0.001) varied among the three groups. Reasons (p<0.001), experience (p<0.01), andmethod of weight control (p<0.05) were different among the three female groups, whereas males did not show anydifferences. Intake of nutritional supplements in the male obese group was higher compared to other groups (p<0.01),whereas eating habits were not significantly different among the three groups for both males and females. Food habits scorefor intake of fruits, milk, and yogurt were higher in females than males (p<0.001). Correlation coefficients of food habitsscore and anthropometric measurements showed that hip circumference was negative for intake of fruits in males, whereasRBW and BMI were positive for food combination, intake of bean products, and fishes in females (p<0.05). Frequency andfitting exercise in the obese female group were lower than in the other groups (p<0.01). Therefore, proper nutritionaleducation for obese individuals is recommended proper self-perception of weight, good food habits, and regular exercise.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the health status and food habits of male college students in Seoul according to drinking habits. In order to identify risk factors, health surveys were conducted from October 2013 to December 2013. Average height, weight, and BMI of subjects were 175.47±5.27 cm, 67.93±9.28 kg, and 22.04±2.67 kg/m2, respectively. Weight and BMI were higher in the non-drinking groups compared to the drinking groups (p<0.05). Frequency of drinking was 2~3 times per month, and 52.4% of subjects started drinking when starting university. The motivation to start drinking was cited as “From necessity”. Reason for drinking was “Social relations”. The favorite kind of drink was beer. Rate of taking supplements was 24.4% of the subjects. Vitamin preparations were highest in drinking groups and non-drinking groups (p<0.05). The reasons for skipping meal were “too busy” in the drinking groups, and “oversleep” in the non-drinking groups (p<0.05). The preference for snacking in drinking groups were milk, milk products, and fast food, with the highest being listed first. The non-drinking groups preferred carbonated drinks and ice cream. The drinking groups need more education about their drinking habits. Drinking groups also need an increased intake of vegetables and fruits.

In this study, we investigated the dietary habits, snacks, and self-purchasing snacks (SPS) intake behaviors of 519 elementary school students (boys=239, girls=280). Obesity was significantly higher (p<0.05) in boys (24.8%) than in girls (14.7%) and the proportion of underweight subjects was higher compared to normal or other weight groups for both the boys and the girls. There were 7.5% of the subjects in the group that always skipped breakfast, and the main reason of skipping breakfast was insufficient time (51.9%). The snack intake frequency was once or twice per week for 23.1% of the subjects and three or four times per week for 25.1%. The SPS intake frequency was the subjects zero for 35.6% of the highest level of the responders, while 6.8% of the respondents took more than once SPS per day. 59.6% of the respondents consumed SPS due to hunger while 15.0% consumed SPS out of boredom. The SPS was purchased from supermarkets in 34.5% of the cases, from convenience stores in 24.1% and from snack corners in 20.0% of cases or from a store near school in 14.5% of the cases. Analysis of SPS behaviors according to obesity index showed that parent’s opinion of ‘permission to buy SPS as needed’ had a significant effect in 64.5% over weight subjects compared to only 53.7% in underweight groups. The subjects who used more than 3/4 of their pocket money to buy SPS was higher in the overweight groups (16.4%) than in the underweight groups (7.0%) and normal weight groups (9.8%). The favorite snacks and SPS were milk and yogurt for 45.7% of the subjects, fruits for 42.7%, ice cream for 26.4%, fruit juices for 23.8%, sweet stuff for 16.4%, frozen dessert for 8.9%, and chocolate or candy for 8.1% in descending order. The intake frequency of milk, yogurt, and fruit juices was higher in the underweight groups, but the intake frequency of sweet stuff, frozen dessert, and chocolate or candy was higher in over weight groups. The intake of frozen dessert was more than four times higher in the overweight groups than in the underweight groups. In conclusion, dietary habits, snacks, and SPS intake behaviors were similar between the boys and the girls and obesity groups, but most students appeared to have a high preference for intake snacks and SPS. Therefore, education for appropriate snacks intake habits will be beneficial for improving their dietary habits and health.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between eating habits and health among adolescents in Shanghai and Heze, China. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013 on 2,089 adolescents; 1,089 students were from Shanghai and 999 students from Heze region. Eating habits, weight, height, and nutritional knowledge were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. Eating habits score was classified into two categories: healthy eating habits and unhealthy eating habits, based on「Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey」, for statistical data analysis. Associations between eating habits, BMI, and nutritional knowledge were examined using a general linear model with adjustment of potential confounding factors such as region, gender, age, parents’ education level, and pocket money. Statistical analyses were performed using the SAS (version 9.3) program. Proportions of healthy eating habits group were 90.0% for breakfast (3-7 times/wk), 29.1% for fruit (≥once/d), 12.5% for vegetable (≥3 times/d), 7.3% for milk (≥2 times/d), 90.0% for fast food (<3 times/wk) consumption, respectively. The average BMI score was 20.1 (Shanghai 20.5 Heze 19.6), which is in the range of normal weight. Rates of obesity and overweight were 16.5% and 8.3% in Shanghai and Heze, respectively. There were significant negative correlations between intake frequencies of breakfast, fast food, biscuits, sugar, chocolate, and BMI score. Eating habits and nutritional knowledge score showed a significant positive correlation. These results showed better eating habits regarding eating regularity and consumption of fruits and soft drinks in Chinese adolescents compared with Korean adolescents, although cultural differences were not fully considered. This study demonstrated significant associations of BMI and nutritional knowledge with dietary behavior in Chinese adolescents in two regions of China. Further studies on Chinese adolescents from other regions in China should be considered.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between intake experience of mother’s milk intake/baby food intake, present eating habits, and atopy symptoms in elementary school students in Chungnam province. More frequent intake of mother’s milk was associated with less atopy symptoms. Subjects who had good attitudes for baby food in the past had less unfavorite foods. In addition, subjects that ate fruits and vegetable-baby food had better eating attitudes for a balanced diet. Unbalanced diet was associated with worse behavior characteristics. Frequency of eating breakfast affected behavioral characteristics. As this study had regional and size limitations, it is necessary to further investigate the relationship between past intake experience of mother’s milk/attitude towards baby foods and present eating habits/physical growth. Based on these results, past intake experience of mother’s milk/attitude towards baby foods might affect present physical growth/development and eating habits of subjects.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate dietary habit and nutritional status by household income in female adults, using data from the 4th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007~2009). Subjects were 8,356 women over the age of 20 years. The subjects were classified into 4 groups by household income level. Dietary data from 24 hr recall methods were used to analyze nutritional status. The obesity rate of the low income group was significantly higher than the rates of other income groups. Additionally, the nutritional status of the low income group was worse than those of other groups. The percentage of carbohydrate in total energy intake was higher and food security status was lower in the low income group than in other groups. Awareness and adherence to dietary guidelines were also lower in the low income group. Adherence to a dietary guideline of ‘avoiding salty foods and trying to eat foods with bland taste’ and ‘eating a variety of foods from each food group’ were lower than those of other groups. However, the frequency of skipping breakfast among the low income group was lower than that of others. Therefore, this study suggested that low income women should decrease the percentage of carbohydrate in total energy intake and adhere to dietary guidelines, especially those of avoiding salty foods and eating a variety of food groups, in order to improve their nutritional status.

Aim of this study is to investigate the nutrition knowledge, dietary behaviors, and dietary habits by the gender in high school students in Chungnam province. Girls students had a higher score than boys students for nutritional knowledge, not in the significant difference. However, boys students had a higher score for dietary behaviors than girls students. Dietary habits showed a significant difference in the unbalanced food habit and eating speed by the gender, and the eating speed of boys students was faster than that of girls students. For boys students, the nutritional knowledge and dietary behaviors did not have the significant correlation. Otherwise, girls students had the positive correlation between the nutritional knowledge and dietary behaviors, and had the characteristics of behaviors that the higher the nutritional knowledge score, the better eating habit. In addition, the boys and girls students had the positive correlation between the score of nutritional knowledge and the frequency of breakfast, and the score of nutritional knowledge and the frequency/regularity of breakfast, respectively. Because some dietary habits/behaviors are related closely to their nutritional knowledge, the high school students need the systematic and steady nutritional education to apply their known nutritional knowledge to actual life.

The aim of this study is to provide the fundamental information on satisfaction for school food service and dietary habits of middle school students in Sejong Special Self-Governing City. Generally, the subjects had a high satisfaction level for school food service. The boys had comparatively more satisfactory days for school food service than the girls. The most dissatisfactory factors of school food service were the taste and variety of menu for the girls, and the time and place for lunch and the service of employee for the boys. The intersexual differences existed with a significant difference in the irregular intake of meals, the reasons to skip meals, and the eating speed. For the boys, the main reason to skip meals was due to lack of appetite, and for the girls, it was the weight-control. The boys finished each meal within 5~10 min and ate more than the amount the girls eat in general. The main components of breakfast for the subjects were a cooked rice, soup, and side dish in 65.9%, and the frequency of skipping breakfast was high with 32.8%, which was once per week. The favorite snacks for the middle school students were cookies and beverages in 29.4%, instant foods in 24.3%, and hamburger and pizza in 21.4%. The intake frequency of snacks was once or twice per week in 46.5% of the subjects. In addition, the subjects had a very high intake frequency of fastfoods with once or twice per week in 72.7%, and the most favorite fastfood was ramen in 57.7%. The subjects in 45.3% took dairy food every day. In conclusion, the middle school students need nutrition education to improve their eating habit and to increase the frequency of breakfast.