Analysis of Dietary Habits of Boarding High School Students in Gangwon According to Gender and Stress Levels

The purpose of this study was to examine the dietary habits of boarding high school students in Gangwon based on gender and stress levels. Questionnaires were distributed to 571 boarding high school students and collected from 491 students from June 28 to July 20, 2011. The statistical data analyses were completed using SPSS (ver. 19.0) for the descriptive analysis, independent sample t-test and $X^2$-test. The mean stress score was 23.7 out of 40, and male's stress was significantly higher than female's (p<0.05). The rates of having daily breakfast and dinner were significantly influenced by gender (p<0.01), and the regularity of lunch was significantly different depending on the stress level (p<0.05). Female students consumed less flour based foods (p<0.01), carbonated drinks (p<0.01), juices (p<0.05) and functional drinks (p<0.01) than male students, but male students consumed less cookies and breads (p<0.01). Dietary habits that boarding high school students should improve were an unbalanced diet (38%), too much intake at once (17%) and prejudice against foods (11%), and their primary value in dietary life was preference (33%), followed by staving off hunger (18%) and pleasure (18%). The average level of interest in dietary life was 2.46 (on a Likert-type 3-point scale) and it was significantly higher for female students (2.53) than male (2.40) (p<0.05). About 54% of students washed their hands before a meal when they thought of it, but only 25% of students always scrubbed up. The regularity of breakfast and dinner, frequency of snack intake, dietary habits that need to improve, intrest in dietary life, and washing hands before meals showed significant difference by gender but not by stress levels.

강원지역 고등학교 기숙사생의 성별 및 스트레스 수준에 따른 식습관 분석