Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine eating behaviors and nutrient intakes of 256 third grade primary school children(134:boys, 122:girls) in Kwangju. There were no significant differences in the heights, weights, physical circumferences measurements between the boys and girls, but the skinfold thickness measurements were significantly different. Most nutrient intakes were higher than the Rec ommended Dietary Allowances but the intake of energy, calcium, and vitamin E were lower than the RDA. The intakes of calcium, niacin, and vitamin E of the girls were significantly lower than those of the boys. With regard to meal volume, 13.6% of the subjects has been 'much'. With regard to meal speed, 24.6% of the subjects has been 'fast'. The study also found that 50% of the subjects skipped breakfast, 67.6% of the subjects had irregular meal times, 64.6% of the subjects ate snacks after dinner and 85.9% of the subjects ate snacks. These results show that the nutrient intake of children was related to snack eating more than regular meals. With regard to dietary behavior and nutrient intakes, meal volume, meal speed, skipping breakfast, eating snacks and eating snacks after dinner were major influences. But regularity of meal time was not influence on nutrient intakes. These results suggest that children's eating behaviors are in needs of correction. This reasserts the importance of nutrition education to children through teachers, parents and dietitians. The findings of this study should be applied to nutrition education to ensure better physical fitness of children.
