• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.608-617
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• 2006

This study compared the food habits and attitudes towards dietary life culture in types of feeding management, gender and grade. The subjects were 352 elementary school students who lived in Seocheon, Chungnam. The independently managed school students were better than jointly managed school students in food habits (p<0.05). In skipping school meals, upper grade students were skipped more than lower grade students (p<0.05). In rate of eating school meals, boys were faster than girls (p<0.001). The independently managed school students and the jointly managed school students were different on distasteful food. Boys disliked vegetables and girls disliked cereals and beans (p<0.05). Upper grade students ate more well-balanced meals than lower grade students (p<0.05). As for the question 'what you will do if the distasteful foods are provided through school meals', they responded. the highest percent of students, 'I will try once or twice'. And the response 'I have them for health' was higher independently in managed school students than the jointly managed school students (p<0.05), girls than boy (p<0.05), and the lower grades than the upper grades (p<0.05). As for the question 'what you will do if the distasteful foods are provided, after the guide for school meals was performed', the response, 'I will make an effort to have it' accounted for the highest percents, and there were differences in lower grade students who were high percents than upper grade students (p<0.01). As for the recognition for unbalanced diets, most of the students recognized that it is a 'bad habit'; the girl students accounted for more percentage than boys (p<0.05). The criterion of food choice were different in gender and grade (p<0.01). As for the factor of influences for the food habits formation, lower grade students were 'school education' and upper grade students were 'parents' (p<0.05). Thus, the systematic guide for proper intakes of nutrition should be performed. Also, the time when students can be educated by an expert of nutritional education, which is connected with school meals and students can grow healthily.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.849-857
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to investigate 5th grade elementary school girls' effort to recognize and use nutritional labels on processed foods and restaurant meals to encourage dietary behavior. The subjects (n=976) were divided into three groups (effort group, n=711; normal group, n=193; and no-effort group, n=72) depending on level of effort for the healthy dietary behavior such as eating balanced meals, eating three meals regularly, and eating meals slowly. In the effort group, the frequency of food intake for breads, ramen, noodles and fast foods was significantly lower, while frequency of food intake for fruits and vegetables and salad was significantly higher than in the other two groups. In the effort group, the ratio of the respondents that perception of nutrition labeling on processed foods and restaurant meals was 80.5% and 31.4% and the ratio of girls who checked the nutrition labeling at their point of purchase was 71.1% and 24.7%, respectively. Reasons given for not reading nutrition labeling for restaurant meals were 'not interested' for 34.6% of the effort group, and 52.2% of the no-effort group. Therefore, it is necessary to create an educational program on healthy dietary behavior, including how to read nutrition labeling and establishment of proper body image perception for elementary school girls.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.38 no.8
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• pp.85-97
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• 2000

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dietary attitude and food behavior of elementary, middle and high school students in Korea. The subjects in this study were 7,698 boys and girls in large cities in Korea. The questionnaire was made and distributed to the students to answer the questions. Followings are the results of this study : 1) Father and mother's average ages were 45 and 41 years old, respectively. 2) Most students thought dietary life was more important than clothing or residentary life. Dietary habits such as irregularity of meal, frequencies of skipping meal and of eating out increased in higher grade than in lower grade, and in girls than in boys. 3) Most students, especially in elementary school, recognized that their own bad dietary habbit was unbalanced diet. Irregular meal time and eating too much were also pointed out as problems by middle and high school students. 4) Most students thought that the most effective meal for health was breakfast, but they replied the tartest meal as dinner. 5) Students tended to prefer Korean style food. Cooked rice and kimchi, ramyun, and pizza were ranked the most preferred food when they were hungry. 6) Elementary school students ate meals more regularly than higher grade students, and girls ate meals more regularly than boys. 7) Skipping rate of breakfast was higher than that of lunch or dinner, and the percentage of meal skipping students was increasing with grade elevation. No time to eat or eating between meals was the reasons of irregular meal time. 8) Frequency of dining with family was decreased, but frequency of eating out with friends was increased with increasing grade. The gravity of dining out is increasing rapidly in Korean adolescents. Therefore, nationwide nutrition education policy is necessary to constitute a right dietary environment and a desirable dietary altitude.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.140-156
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• 2023

Children are very sensitive to exposure to heavy metals such as mercury which can accumulate in the body. Exposure to even low concentrations of such metals is reported to be very harmful to health. An evaluation of the mercury content of meals in public elementary schools could provide information which could be used to reduce this level. Two public elementary schools were selected from 16 cities and provinces. The meals provided were analyzed in the third week of spring, summer, fall, and winter. The average mercury allowance per meal was calculated using the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) established by the government. The number of instances of excess content observed was compared by region based on the mercury allowance per meal, and the frequency of use of mercury-containing marine products that cause the excessive levels was identified. The results of analyzing a total of 575 menus revealed that the use of marine and processed marine products with a high mercury content was more in the coastal areas. The mercury content in school meals was also higher in coastal areas than in inland areas. Conversely, in inland areas, the frequency of intake of marine products and marine products with a high mercury content was low, and the amount of mercury intake in school meals was also correspondingly low. In conclusion, this study intended to provide information that could be used to make school meal menus safer. This data can be used to replace school meal menus with high mercury content in coastal areas with menus with low mercury content.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.46-61
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• 2001

The purpose of this study is to survey eating habits and food preferences of elementary school students, and to offer basic informations for proper guiding method. The findings of this research were as follows : (1) In regularity of eating habit, boys had more regular terms than girls. In other words, girls more often did without meals or didn't have regular eating habit. (2) Boys were more likely to overeat than girls. On the other hand. girls tended not to eat up all food. (3) The 60% of the children, who were given the questionnaire. answered that they were greedy for delicious foods. It shows that good table manner will have to be taught to children. (4) The 70% of the children answered that they were eating the unbalanced meals. It shows that systematic and continuous guidance for correcting unbalanced meals will be necessary to children. Also, considering that the eating habit of unbalanced meals is more serious in lower grade students, the children will have to learn about balanced meals from lower grade. (5) The research showed that the children were eating out more often than before and that the 90% of the children were eating snacks. So, the table manner when eating out and food selection for snack will have to be taught to children systematically. (6) The children were likely to prefer rice to cereals and to prefer meat to fish. (7) The children tended to like fried food better than any ether food. In addition, they showed higher preference for instant foods like noodles. Therefore, the systematic guidance will be necessary for children not to select acidified fried food.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.679-687
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• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Recently, there has been an increased interest in the importance of family meals on children's health and nutrition. This study aims to examine if the eating habits and eating behaviors of children are different according to the frequency of family dinners. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The subjects were third-grade students from 70 elementary schools in 17 cities nationwide. A two-stage stratified cluster sampling was employed. The survey questionnaire was composed of items that examined the general characteristics, family meals, eating habits, eating behaviors, and environmental influence on children's eating. The subjects responded to a self-reported questionnaire. Excluding the incomplete responses, the data (n = 3,435) were analyzed using ${\chi}^2$-test or t-test. RESULTS: The group that had more frequent family dinners (${\geq}$ 5 days/week, 63.4%), compared to those that had less (${\leq}$ 4 days/week, 36.6%), showed better eating habits, such as eating meals regularly, performing desirable behaviors during meals, having breakfast frequently, having breakfast with family members (P < 0.001), and not eating only what he or she likes (P < 0.05). Those who had more frequent family dinners also consumed healthy foods with more frequency, including protein foods, dairy products, grains, vegetables, seaweeds (P < 0.001), and fruits (P < 0.01). However, unhealthy eating behaviors (e.g., eating fatty foods, salty foods, sweets, etc.) were not significantly different by the frequency of family dinners. CONCLUSIONS: Having dinner frequently with family members was associated with more desirable eating habits and with healthy eating behaviors in young children. Thus nutrition education might be planned to promote family dinners, by emphasizing the benefits of having family meals on children's health and nutrition and making more opportunities for family meals.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.952-966
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to analyze the differences of food habits and food preferences between lower and higher grade students through the survey of elementary school students in Daejeon four elementary schools located in Jung-Gu and Seo-Gu in Daejeon are selected for this survey randomly and the completion of the questionnaires are according to grade. 1. Practical Analysis of Food Habits: For regular meals, the highest number of subjects skipped breakfast. It is being found that the girl students (81.61%) consumed more cooked rice than the boys (78.85%) and more boys (13.10%) ate bread or milk more than the girls (9.20%). The most important thing for the lower grades students (34.20%) when consuming is the nutritious foods, while the higher grades students (49.67%) consumed the set meals. During consumption, the highest number of the subjects watched TV or read books from time to time. More higher grades students (38.98%) preferred spicy and salty foods than the lower grades (22.09%). 2. Food Preferences: Between rice and noodles, most subjects preferred cooked rice (81.38%), Jajangmyeon (80.80%), Ramyeon (79.43%), and disliked bean-mixed rice (28.39%). For soups, Most students enjoy the Deokkguk. Majority of the subjects prefer meat and fried or steamed foods, and also grilled and pan-fried dishes. For the pan-roasted and fried dishes, most subjects did not enjoy the rhizome fry and sweet-pumpkin fry methods, and for vegetables, they did not like wild vegetable and seasoned cucumber (40.57%) The higher grades students enjoy the vegetables and salads more than the lower grades students. For Kimchi varieties, it is found that subjects like the cabbage Kimchi (69.66%) the most. There is little difference in food preference between the lower and higher grade students, but the rankings of food preferences are different according to various grades.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.475-485
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• 2001

This study was conducted to find the differences in the physical changes, eating habits and dietary intake by obseity index of sixth grade primary school students is Seoul.The subjests were classified into three groups, an underweight group(90% under, 12l Ug), normal group(between 90-110%, 153, NG), and obese group(110% over, 91, OG) according to WLI(Weight-Length Index)calculated with their present (6th grade) height and weight. The physical growth of the subjects was generally good, although problems of both underweight and obesity were existed together. The mean heigh growth velocity per year, weight growth velocity per year and WLI changes per year of OG were higher than those of the other groups(p〈0.01). The past physical status of the three groups were maintained from 1 st grade to sixth grade, As eating habits and lifestyles, they were not statistically significant but there were some differences among the three groups. More students of the UG disliked a certain food than those of the other groups. UG liked fried or roasted foods more(p〈0.001). NG tended to eat three meals more irregularly. OG tended to have meal times more regularly and do more regular exercise than the other groups. The dietary intakes of three groups were generally good. They were not statically significant among the three groups. With theses difference among the three groups, it is recommended to educate about unbalanced diet for the underweight group, regularity, of meals for the normal group, doing exercise for the obese for the obese group, and increasing Ca and vitamin A intake for most students, As the physical status for th lower grades have been maintained up to the sixth grade, nutrition education programs should be started at the lower grades in the elementary school.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.437-445
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• 2017

This study was conducted to investigate the nutrition knowledge, dietary attitudes, dietary behaviors, smartphone usage-related dietary habits, and health-related lifestyles of higher grade students in elementary school according to risk level of smartphone overdependence. Subjects were 286 fifth and sixth grade students of elementary school in the Siheung and Ansan areas. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS v. 20.0. Based on scores of S-scale (smartphone overdependence scale for adolescents), subjects who used smartphone were classified into an overdependence group (ODG, n=52) and a normal group (NG, n=234). The ODG showed a significantly longer usage time than NG on both weekdays and weekends (p<0.001). There were no significant differences in total scores of nutrition knowledge between the ODG and NG. Average total scores of dietary attitude and dietary behavior in the ODG were significantly lower than in the NG (p<0.001). There were higher risks of ODG for skipping meals (OR=8.3, 95% CI=4.027-17.099), changing eating speed (OR=4.4, 95% CI=2.209-8.822), and changing meal amount due to smartphone usage (OR=2.9 95% CI=1.233-6.623). Therefore, education programs are needed to ensure proper dietary behaviors and habits among smartphone overdependent elementary school students.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.168-180
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• 1996

This study was accomplished to investigate the prevalence of obesity among the 229 elementary school children(boys; 115 persons, girls; 114 persons) during 4 years by retrospective study. The results were as follows; 1. The mean height and weight of 229 subjects were 143.2cm(boys;143.4cm, girls; 142.7cm), 38.8kg(boys;40.4kg, girls;36.9kg), respectively. And other anthropometric body index such as the mean BMI, Rohrer Index, WLI and Obesity Index of subjects were 18.8(boys;19.5, girls; 18.0), 1.31(boys;1.36, girls; 1.26), 115.5(boys;121.4, girls; 108.9) and 110.6(boys;114.5, girls; 106.7), respectively. 2. The mean percentile values of height and weight of subjects were higher than the '85 Korean Children's Growth Standard, respectively. In the case of boys, the 75th percentile value of weights was larger than that's 97th's. And in the case of girls, the 75th percentile value of weights was equalled to the that's 90th's. 3. When the subjects were classified into 4 groups such as obese, overweight, normal, and lean groups according to Obesity Index, their percentages were 28.8%(boys; 38.3%, girls; 19.3%), ll.8%(boys; 9.6%, girls; 14.0%), 50.7%(boys; 47.0%, girls; 54.4%) and 8.7%(boys; 5.2%, girls; 12.3%), respectively. And only I person(3.3%) is classified into normal group and 2 persons(6.7%) are classified into overweight group when they become 5 grade among 30 persons(13.1%) who were classified into obese group when they were I grade. 4. Changes in percentage of subjects differentiated by 3 indices during 4 years(from I grade to 5 grade) were as follows; In the case of BMI were 5.2%, 5.2%, 11.8%, 21.0%, 27.5%. In the case of Roher index were 13.1%, 11.8%, 14.4%, 14.8%, 17.8%. And in the case of WLI were 15.7%, 21.6%, 29.5%, 32.2%, 36.7%. 5. There was no significant difference among 4 groups on the skip rate of breakfast(obese;48.5%, overweight;55. mean meal time of subjects took about 10 minutes which was short, and the eating rate of obese group was significantly shorter than that of other groups(p<0.05). There was a tendency that the rate of the obese or overweight group eating together in breakfast and dinner was lower than that of normal or lean group. The mean T.V. watching time and the rate of eating out of subjects were 1-2 hours/day and 1 or 2 times/week. In conclusion, the subjects have been grown remarkably compared to the '85 Korean Children's Growth Standard, especially boy's weight. In order to the elementary school children to be grew as healthful citizen they should recognize the importance of meals of everyday, the balanced meals, and desirable eating habits. In addition to these, we should educate the ways of meal-life to them. We also are in need to develope the methods of education for the students themselves and their parents so that could prevent the increase rate of obesity.