The Effect of Working Mothers′on the Dietary Behavior of Middle and High School Students

어머니의 취업여부에 따른 중ㆍ고등학생의 식행동 비교

The purpose of this study was to compare the dietary behavior of middle school and high school students who had working mothers with students whose mothers were not employed. Self-reports on their dietary behavior and one-day dietary records were obtained from 396 middle school students and 364 high school students using anonymous questionnaires. The results were summarized as follows; the students with working mothers were more likely to not to eat properly and their dietary behavior was generally inadequate, showing a greater irregularity for meals, more of a tendency to skip breakfast, less diversity of food intake, and a higher incidence of drinking and smoking. One-day dietary records obtained by 24k recall methods showed less diverse food intake and a higher rate of skipped meals in students with working mothers. Drinking and smoking were more prevalent among middle school students whose mothers were working than among those students with unemployed mothers, but in the case of high school student the difference was not significant. With more and more housewives seeking jobs, more attention needs to be given to the dietary and nutritional intake of their children, especially among middle school students. High school students seem to be less affected than middle school students by their mother's employment.