서울과 강원 일부지역 대학생들의 스트레스 정도가 식습관에 미치는 영향

Eating Habits of the University Students affected by Stress Levels in the Areas of Seoul and Gangwon Province

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.