Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the eating behavior and to analyze the various factors affecting eating behavior among middle school students. The subjents consisted of 212 middle school students(106 boys and 106 girls between 13-14 years) residing in Seoul. A questionnaire was used as the questionnaire consisted of four parts : the socio-demographic characteristics of the subjects, value toward food and nutrition, diet diversity(the number of food items) and eating behavior. Results showed that fifty three point five percent of males and fifty seven percent of females skipped breakfast. The main reason for skipping breakfast was shortage of time. Fifty five percent of the total number of subjects stated that they had more than two plasant meals a day. The number of food items eaten was significantly higher in males than in females. In only 16.4% of total subjects(18.5% of male and 14.2% of female), the primary pursuit in having meals was not to satisfy hunger but to consider nutrition and health. The eating behavior of the adolescents showed that 65% of the subjects had a 'good' eating behavior score and 17.4% had scores of 'excellent' and 'poor' respectively. The existence of parents, the economic level of the family, and concern of health and nutrition affected the eating behavior score. The less the subject skipped breakfast, the greater they placed a value toward food and nutrition. Value toward food and nutrition had a significant influence on their eating behavior. Those who placed a value toward food and nutrition had a higher eating behavior. Those who placed a value toward food and nutrition had a higher eating eating behavior. As a result of the multiple regression analysis, factors affecting eating behavior were 'pleasant meal' , 'the value toward food and nutrition' and 'the numbers of food items' in order(R2=0.2984).

• Keywords: eating behavior; middle school students