• 한국식품조리과학회지
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• 제30권5호
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• pp.650-662
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• 2014

This study was conducted to identify middle school students' caffeine intake from their favorite foods containing caffeine as well as several factors related to their intake. The objects of the investigation were 369 middle school students in the urban area of Changwon-si and 358 middle school students in the rural area of Haman-gun. The average height was 162.3cm, average weight was 52.3 kg and average BMI was 19.8. The food habit score was generally positive at an average of 3.37. The food habit scores of rural area students were higher than those of urban area students (p<.05). The average stress score was somewhat low at 2.82. The stress index for rural students was lower than that of urban students (p<.01). The recognition of caffeine in favorite foods was 8.12 out of a 12 point scale. The average nutritional knowledge score regarding caffeine was very low at 3.08 out of a 10 point scale. The main reason for selecting favorite foods was 'taste'. The percentage of students who don't check food labels was 49.1%. 'House' was the main location while 'good taste' was the biggest reason for eating caffeine-containing foods. The main side effect of caffeine intake was 'nausea'. The average daily caffeine intake for all subjects was 26.96 mg, with the urban students averaging 27.90 mg and the rural students averaging 25.99 mg. The correlations between several factors and caffeine intake were examined. Food habit showed a negative correlation with stress score and caffeine intake. Nutritional knowledge and recognition of caffeine had positive correlations with caffeine intake. Hence nutritional education about caffeine should be emphasized to improve students' healthy food habits.