• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.340-346
• /
• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Despite the importance of consuming sufficient amounts of vegetables, daily vegetable intake among adolescents in Korea is lower than the current dietary recommendation. The objective of this study was to examine determinants affecting vegetable preference in order to suggest a stage-tailored education strategy that can promote vegetable consumption in adolescents. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Adolescents (n = 400, aged 16-17 years) from two high schools participated in a cross-sectional study. Survey variables were vegetable preference, the social cognitive theory (SCT) and stages of change (SOC) constructs. Based on vegetable preference, subjects were classified into two groups: a low-preference group (LPG) and a high-preference group (HPG). SOC was subdivided into pre-action and action/maintenance stages. To compare SCT components and SOC related to vegetable preference, chi-squared and t-tests, along with stepwise multiple-regression analysis, were applied. RESULTS: In the LPG, a similar number of subjects were classified into each stage. Significant differences in self-efficacy, affective attitudes, and vegetable accessibility at home and school were detected among the stages. Subjects in the HPG were mainly at the maintenance stage (81%), and there were significant differences among the stages regarding self-efficacy, affective attitudes, and parenting practice. In the predictions of vegetable preference, self-efficacy and parenting practice had a significant effect in the "pre-action" stage. In the action/maintenance stage, outcome expectation, affective attitudes, and vegetable accessibility at school had significant predictive value. In predicting the vegetable preference for all subjects, 42.8% of the predictive variance was accounted for by affective attitudes, self-efficacy, and vegetable accessibility at school. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that different determinants affect adolescent vegetable preference in each stage. Self-efficacy and affective attitudes are important determinants affecting vegetable preference. Additionally, school-based nutrition intervention that focuses on enhancing affective attitudes, self-efficacy, and vegetable exposure may constitute an effective education strategy for promoting vegetable consumption among adolescents.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.81-87
• /
• 1988

This study attempted to investigate the relationships between vegetable preference and physical status. The subjects were 127 kindergarten children living Kwang-ju. In this study, vegetable preference and health status of the children were investigated by response of thier mothers through questionnaires. Also, rate of dental caries and anthropometric measures were obtained by examination. The results are summarized as follows; 1) Anthropometric mesures of the subjects were higher than those of Korean standards for children. 2) The mean hedonic score for vegetable preference in subjects was 2.6. The difference in vegetable preference between male and femal was not significant except for a squash item. 3) Vegetable prefernce has a significant correlation with the def. tooth rate. Especially preference of spinach, wild sesame leaf, and cucumber were negatively related to the def. tooth rate. 4) Vegetable preference and anthropometric measures did not show any significant correlation. 5) Children who ate sweets for snacks frequently disliked vegetable and showed high rate of dental caries significantly(p<0.001). Children who had anorexia and constipation disliked vegetables significantly (p<0.01). Children who complained diarrhea symptom showed significant high rte of dental caries(p<0.01). From the results above, as the negative relationship between vegetable preference and def. tooth rate was found, many cooking methods of vegetables should be studied and nutrition education should be oriented to recommend an increased intake of vegetables by children.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.54 no.1
• /
• pp.54-66
• /
• 2021

Purpose: Considering the various health benefits of vegetables, it is necessary to identify maternal correlates of vegetable preference and consumption in children for shaping desirable vegetable-related eating habits. This study aimed to investigate the maternal factors related to vegetable preferences and consumption in preschool-aged children. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that surveyed 303 mother-child pairs (146 boys, 157 girls) to explore general characteristics, vegetable preferences, and cooked vegetable consumption in mothers and children using a questionnaire method. Maternal correlates of the child's vegetable preference and consumption were tested using a generalized linear model using SAS program. Results: Mothers' vegetable preferences and consumption were significantly higher than those in their children (p < 0.001). Mothers' vegetable preferences showed a significant positive correlation with the vegetable preferences of their children (mother-son, p < 0.001; mother-daughter, p < 0.001). Additionally, mothers' cooked vegetable consumption showed a significant positive correlation with the cooked vegetable consumption of children (mother-son, p < 0.001; mother-daughter, p < 0.001). Mothers' vegetable preferences and consumption respectively increased those of their children, in both boys and girls. Conclusion: Findings that mothers' vegetable preference and consumption correlates of children's vegetable preferences and consumption, indicate the importance of the mothers' role in increasing vegetable consumption in children. Mothers should be aware of the effects of their vegetable eating habits on their children's vegetable consumption and try to develop healthy eating habits. We suggest that the government or local communities provide nutrition education for mothers to adopt healthy eating habits and present information to educate their children on food and healthy dietary habits.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.128-137
• /
• 2007

The objective of this study was to investigate the dietary behavior and preference of vegetable food and to provide preliminary data required for menu promotion for middle school students' proper diet habits for their health. A survey was conducted for one week(2007) in Kyounggi province(Ansan and Seoul). The result was as follows. Three times a day was the highest in the number of eating meals and boiled rice. In the preference of food items, the meat food was more preferred than the vegetable food. In case of vegetable preference, males were higher than females. Many students recognized one dish of vegetable food in their meals. 72.4% of students ate less than provided in the food service system. Also, 7% of students did not eat vegetable foods entirely. They have had 1/2 dish(35.2%) of Kimchi in their meals and only 10.6% of students didn't eat Kimchi at all. The reason that students ate vegetable provided was 'for eating rice'(47%). Also, the reasons that students do not eat vegetable provided were 'bad taste' and 'unfavorite vegetable'. The above results indicated that it was needed to understand the importance of vegetables and education about the nutrients of vegetables.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.207-214
• /
• 2002

Food preference of children may be determined by various lifestyle and environmental factors. This study evaluated the effect of rural or urban inhabitance, cooking methods, and frequency of exposure to vegetable dishes on the acceptance of vegetables by 452 fifth grade children. The subjects were students utilizing meal service in public elementary schools in Boryeoung-city, Chungcheong-nam-do (urban); Cheolwon-gun, Gangwondo (rural); or Pocheon-gun, Kyeonggi-do (suburban). A survey was used to determine the preference of students for 59 foods containing vegetables as a primary ingredient, and categorized by fat content (high, low, or intermediate). Children with working mothers and those living in urban areas tended to have less preference for vegetables than their counterparts in rural areas or with mothers who remained at home. Preference for vegetable foods was correlated with the frequency that vegetable foods were prepared by mothers. Vegetable dishes with a high fat content were preferred over those with low or intermediate fat content, except far soup. This study suggests that children who live in urban areas and whose mothers work outside of the home may be predisposed to nutritional deficiencies due to poor acceptance of vegetable foods, and that all children may be at risk for over-consumption of dietary fat, due to a preference for high fat foods.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.138-150
• /
• 2007

A survey on meal preference from 287 middle school students was conducted with objective to enhance the quality of the school food service. In case of preference about cookery methods, snacks(15%) and fried food(15%) were ranked the highest while vegetable food showed the lowest. The component ratios of food items were 60.5% of vegetable food and 39.5% of meat food. The most preferred foods were 'Samkeybsal(49%)', 'pizza(41%)', 'spaghetti(33%)', 'pork cullet(31%)', and 'fried chicken (30%)'. In boiled rice, 'fried rice' and 'Bibimbab' were preferred most. The best choice of noodle was spaghetti. The highest ranked soup and stews were 'mandu and soup' and 'Kimchi stew'. Also, 'Galbijjim' and 'Sam-keybsal' showed high preference. In vegetable food, Kimchi was the lowest preference. In 'snacks', the highest preference was 'pizza'. The female students were more in favor of food items than males were except 'grilled foods' and 'steamed foods'. Above all, it is needed to do surveys about food preference periodically and active nutrition education for establishing proper eating habits for middle school students.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.19 no.5
• /
• pp.415-424
• /
• 2014

Objectives: Vegetables are the most left over side dishes in school lunch programs. This study intended to analyze the differences in preference for vegetables among the students of different age groups in order to determine potential ways of increasing vegetable consumption in this study group. Methods: A total of 308 primary to university students in Gyeongbuk area were recruited and a questionnaire-based survey was conducted. The preference score (7-Likert scale: very much dislike (1)~so-so (4)~like very much (7)) and intake frequency (5-Likert scale) of 48 kinds of vegetables in 4 vegetable groups, such as vegetable (fruit-, root-, leaf-, and stalk-vegetable), seaweeds, mushrooms, and kimchi were investigated, and data were analyzed by SPSS WIN (ver 12.0). Results: The preference scores of vegetables except for seaweeds were significantly different among school groups, university was the highest, followed by high school. Primary and middle school students showed the lowest preference score, especially for leaf- and stalk- vegetables. The preference score for seaweeds was the highest of 5.28, followed by kimchi of 4.99. With regard to kimchis, the preference score was the highest in university', followed by high school, middle school, and primary school' was the lowest. The number of vegetables with < 4.0 preference score was the highest in primary school of 16, 15 in middle school, 11 in high school, and 7, the lowest in university. The vegetable with preference score of < 4.0 in all 4 school groups were mallow, chard, bud, radish leaf, mugwort, butterbur and sweet potato stalk. With regard to the intake frequency of vegetables, kimchis, an indispensable part of the Korean diet, was the highest of 2 times/day, followed by cooked vegetables of 1.5 times/day. The correlation coefficients between preference scores and intake frequencies were statistically significant in all groups of vegetables. As for the coefficient of variation (CV) of preference score, primary school' was the highest and university' was the lowest. The number of vegetables with high CV and high inexperience were highest in primary school students. Conclusions: Providing more opportunities for consuming a variety of vegetables, such as leaf- and stalk-vegetable, it may be possible to increase vegetable consumption, especially for the primary school students.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.52 no.3
• /
• pp.285-296
• /
• 2019

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the factors affecting vegetable preferences of children based on the social cognitive theory to reduce imbalances in vegetable consumption. Methods: The survey investigated 177 elementary school students in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, in June of 2018. The subjects consisted of 44 fifth graders (27.7%) and 128 (72.3%) sixth graders. Results: Among personal factors of the Social Cognitive Theory, positive outcome expectation and self-efficacy of the vegetable preference group were significantly higher than those of the non-preference group. Negative barrier scores of the non-preference group were significantly higher than those of the preference group, and the biggest barrier was that vegetables were tasteless. Among behavioral factors, the nutritional knowledge of vegetables was high, but the degree of practice was low. Practice score of the vegetable preference group was significantly higher than that of the non-preference group. Among environmental factors, the vegetable preference group was more likely to accept advice from people around them than the non-preference group and the most influential people were doctors and parents. In the vegetable intake environment, children in the vegetable preference group had high accessibility to vegetables. Correlation analysis and regression analysis of the social cognitive factors and vegetable preferences revealed all factors except nutritional knowledge showed significant correlation with vegetable preference. And surrounding people (p < 0.01), practice (p < 0.01), and self-efficacy (p < 0.05) had positive effects on vegetable preference. Conclusion: These results suggest that providing the health benefits from eating vegetables and educating children for improving their self-confidence are necessary for increasing the preference for vegetables and their intake by children.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.146-154
• /
• 2009

This study was conducted to investigate the vegetable eating behaviors and preferences of elementary school students by stage of change for vegetable intake. The subjects consisted of 191 fourth and fifth grade elementary school students from Gyeonggi province. The stage of change for vegetable intake was categorized into three groups: precontemplation (PC, 18.4%), preparation (P, 43.5%), and action/maintenance (A&M, 48.2%). The trend to eat a variety of foods was more distinctive as the students went from the PC to the A&M stage. The stage of change for vegetable intake was closely related with the kimchi-eating pattern of the students. The A&M group ate more vegetables than the PC group because they liked vegetables and/or wanted to prevent disease. The PC group had a lower tendency to follow recommendations for vegetable eating than the P and A&M groups. The PC group also had an incorrect notion that low vegetable consumption over an extended time would not have a big impact on their health. The vegetables of high preference for the elementary school students were potato, sweet potato, lettuce, radish, perilla leaf, cucumber, and cabbage. The vegetables of low preference were spinach, onion, balloon flower, and green pepper. The PC group had lower preferences for most vegetables than the P and A&M groups. Therefore, careful nutrition education is necessary especially for students in the PC group in order to explain the positive effects of vegetable intake and negative effects of an unbalanced diet. It is also necessary to survey students' tastes consistently and to develop recipes that encourage them to consume more vegetables agreeably.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.525-535
• /
• 2010

The purpose of this study was to provide basic data for nutritional education for juveniles' desirable vegetable intake by analyzing their vegetable intake, dietary habit and nutrient intakes according to gender of middle school students in Chungnam. The average age of the subjects was 15.0, height was 162.5 cm, weight was 53.5 kg and their average BMI was $20.1kg/m^2$. The frequency of eating supper in girls was lower than that in boys. Many respondents answered that a meal-time was 10~20 minutes. Without gender difference, more than 90% respondents thought that vegetables were good for health. As for the preference of vegetable, subjects responded, "I am in the middle", "I like them", "I dislike them", "I like them very much", and "I dislike them very much" in order, without gender difference. The frequent eaten leaf vegetable was Chinese cabbage, the frequent eaten fruit vegetable was cucumber, and the frequent eaten root vegetable was radish. The favorite leaf vegetable was lettuce, the favorite fruit vegetable was corn, and the favorite root vegetable was sweet potato. The preference degrees of taro and ginger were very low. The reasons why they liked a vegetable were that it was delicious and they ate it at home often. In addition, the reason why they disliked vegetables was that they are untasty in flavor or texture and it showed that many students had a prejudice that vegetables were untasty. The intakes of plant protein, dietary fiber, ash and INQs of dietary fiber, calcium, vitamin C, folate, vitamin E in the group with high preference of vegetables were significantly higher than those of low preference group. The study results indicate that intake frequency and preference of root vegetables in juveniles are low and the major reasons of these results are taste and eating experience of vegetables. In addition, the intake amounts of dietary fiber and folate are poor in the subjects with low preference of vegetables. Therefore, families and schools should make efforts that juveniles can recognize the importance of vegetable intake and select various vegetables properly through the development of cooking methods and systematic nutrition education.