Journal List > Korean J Health Promot > v.14(3) > 1089828

Yang, Lee, and Chung: Perceptions and Use of Premium Snacks and Associated Factors in School Aged Children and Their Mothers in Kyung-Ki Area

Abstract

Background

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions and use of premium snacks (PS) in school aged children. In addition, the influence of their mothers attitude toward the PS use on the children's PS eating behavior was examined.

Methods

337 boys and 292 girls and their mothers (n=535) were participated in this study. Participants were recruited from two elementary schools located in Kyung-ki area. Information on general characteristics, the frequencies of general snack eating and associated factors, and the frequencies of PS eating and associated factors were obtained by a self-administered questionnaire.

Results

The mean frequency of PS eating were 1.12 times/wk in boys and 0.98 times/wk in girls. The PS eating frequency was positively associated with the frequency of eating general snacks in boys and the money spent on purchasing general snacks in girls. The main reasons for eating PS were ‘health' followed by ‘taste'. The frequencies of general snack eating and those of PS use in mothers were highly associated with the frequencies of eating PS in children. Further, the perceptions on PS in mothers were significantly correlated with the frequencies of PS eating both in boys and in girls, although correlation coefficients were somewhat weak.

Conclusions

Our study showed that mother's snack eating behavior and perceptions can affect their children's PS uses. Our findings suggest that the education toward the mother's eating behavior and nutrition knowledge are important in improving child's eating behavior including reasonable and healthy snack choices.

References

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Table 1.
General characteristics of the study subjectsa
Variables Boy (n=337) Girl (n=292) Total (n=629) χ2 (P)b
N (%) N (%) N (%)
Grade
 5th 192 (57.0) 172 (58.9) 364 (57.9) 0.239 (0.625)
 6th 145 (43.0) 120 (41.1) 265 (42.1)  
Obesity
 Underweight 113 (34.7) 132 (46.5) 245 (40.2) 15.872 (0.001)
 Normal 137 (42.2) 113 (39.7) 250 (41.1)  
 Overweight 28 (8.6) 22 (7.8) 50 (8.2)  
 Obese 47 (14.5) 17 (6.0) 64 (10.5)  
Number of siblings
 0 28 (10.4) 24 (9.2) 52 (9.8) 0.398 (0.820)
 1 181 (67.0) 174 (66.4) 355 (66.7)  
 ≥2 61 (22.6) 64 (24.4) 125 (23.5)  
Family income, 10,000 Korean Won/mon
 <100 11 (4.1) 12 (4.6) 23 (4.4) 6.209 (0.184)
 100–200 38 (14.2) 42 (16.3) 80 (15.2)  
 200–300 54 (20.2) 71 (27.4) 125 (23.7)  
 300–400 105 (39.2) 91 (35.1) 196 (37.2)  
 ≥500 60 (22.3) 43 (16.6) 103 (19.5)  
Mother's age
 30–35 8 (3.0) 13 (5.0) 21 (4.0) 3.274 (0.351)
 36–40 85 (31.5) 92 (35.1) 177 (33.3)  
 41–45 134 (49.5) 125 (47.7) 259 (48.6)  
 ≥45 43 (16.0) 32 (12.2) 75 (14.1)  
Mother's education
 ≤Middle/high school 164 (60.7) 153 (58.4) 317 (59.6) 0.303 (0.582)
 ≥College/university 106 (39.3) 109 (41.6) 215 (40.4)  
Mother's employment
 Full-time employed 124 (45.9) 131 (50.0) 255 (47.9) 3.543 (0.170)
 Part-time employed 31 (11.5) 39 (14.9) 70 (13.2)  
 None 115 (42.6) 92 (35.1) 207 (38.9)  

a Some variables have different total numbers due to missing values.

b Calculated by chi-square test.

Table 2.
Characteristics of premium snack purchasing patterns in children and their mothersa
Variables Boy (n=337) Boy's mother (n=273) χ2 (P)b Girl (n=292) Girl's mother (n=262) r χ2 (P)b Boy vs. girl
N (%) N (%) N (%) N (%) χ2 (P)b
Frequency of purchasing premium snacks
 ≥1 time/d 24 (7.1) 5 (1.9) 10.988 (0.012) 12 (4.1) 6 (2.3) 8.136 (0.043) 4.204 (0.240)
 3∼6 times/wk 19 (5.7) 11 (4.0)   14 (4.8) 6 (2.3)    
 1∼2 times/wk 52 (15.4) 39 (14.3)   57 (19.5) 36 (13.9)    
 Rare 242 (71.8) 217 (79.8)   209 (71.6) 212 (81.5)    
Reasons for purchasing premium snacks (choose two)
 Taste 141 (22.2) 37 (6.8) 118.367 (<0.001) 115 (20.5) 41 (7.8) 66.683 (<0.001) 10.699 (0.058)
 Health 201 (31.5) 168 (30.6)   168 (29.9) 150 (28.6)    
 Nutrition 91 (14.3) 44 (8.1)   71 (12.7) 44 (8.4)    
 Ingredient 91 (14.3) 137 (25.1)   112 (19.9) 146 (27.9)    
 Food additives 41 (6.5) 110 (20.2)   48 (8.5) 102 (19.5)    
 Others 71 (11.2) 50 (9.2)   48 (8.5) 41 (7.8)    
Reason for not purchasing premium snacks
 Price 179 (55.4) 126 (46.3) 40.621 (<0.001) 170 (59.2) 136 (51.9) 14.746 (0.005) 1.924 (0.750)
 Too much advertisement 42 (13.0) 79 (29.0)   34 (11.9) 53 (20.2)    
 Bad taste 56 (17.4) 15 (5.5)   42 (14.6) 22 (8.4)    
 Similar nutrient contents 22 (6.8) 23 (8.5)   16 (5.6) 24 (9.2)    
 Similar ingredients 24 (7.4) 29 (10.7)   25 (8.7) 27 (10.3)    

a Some variables have different total numbers due to missing values.

b Calculated by chi-square test.

Table 3.
The frequency of eating premium snacks (times/day) and associated factors in boys and girls
Variables Boy Girl Total
N Mean±SD F (P)a N Mean±SD F (P)a N Mean±SD F (P)a
Frequency of eating general snacks
 ≥3 times/d 27 0.40±0.78b 2.87 (0.023) 26 0.20±0.59 1.27 (0.280) 53 0.30±0.69b 2.62 (0.034)
 2 times/d 76 0.14±0.43c   69 0.21±0.59   145 0.17±0.51c  
 1 time/d 113 0.12±0.30c   106 0.09±0.20   219 0.11±0.26c  
 1–3 times/wk 75 0.16±0.35c   59 0.10±0.21   134 0.13±0.30c  
 Rare 46 0.12±0.27c   32 0.19±0.55   78 0.15±0.41c  
Money spent on general snacks, Korean Won/d
 <500 97 0.15±0.37 2.29 (0.059) 70 0.11±0.39c 3.40 (0.010) 167 0.14±0.38c 5.21 (<0.001)
 500–1000 161 0.14±0.36   151 0.14±0.40c   312 0.14±0.38c  
 1100–1500 41 0.12±0.36   43 0.13±0.33c   84 0.13±0.34c  
 1600–2000 16 0.10±0.25   19 0.04±0.08c   35 0.07±0.18c  
 >2000 22 0.40±0.76   9 0.61±0.96b   31 0.46±0.81b  
Ways of getting general snacks
 Purchased by oneself 125 0.12±0.32 1.03 (0.359) 119 0.15±0.37 1.27 (0.282) 244 0.13±0.34 1.42 (0.242)
 Purchased by parents 140 0.17±0.44   107 0.10±0.32   247 0.14±0.40  
 Prepared by parents 72 0.20±0.44   66 0.20±0.58   138 0.20±0.51  
Person who eat snacks with
 Alone 135 0.15±0.39 0.13 (0.878) 98 0.17±0.57 0.97 (0.379) 233 0.16±0.47 0.42 (0.657)
 Friends 100 0.17±0.39   86 0.16±0.27   186 0.16±0.34  
 Family 101 0.16±0.43   108 0.10±0.33   209 0.13±0.38  
Obesity
 Underweight 113 0.18±0.47 1.21 (0.307) 132 0.11±0.23 1.16 (0.320) 245 0.14±0.36 1.02 (0.385)
 Normal 137 0.14±0.30   111 0.20±0.60   248 0.16±0.46  
 Overweight 28 0.05±0.11   22 0.08±0.22   50 0.06±0.17  
 Obese 47 0.14±0.26   17 0.09±0.20   64 0.13±0.25  
Totald 337 0.16±0.40   292 0.14±0.40   629 0.15±0.41 –0.80 (0.423)

a Calculated by oneway analysis of variance.

b cSignificantly different by Duncan's multiple range test.

a Some variables have different total numbers due to missing values.

Table 4.
Association between mother's characteristics and the frequency of eating premium snacks (times/day) in boys and girls
Mother's characteristics Boy (n=273) Girl (n=262) Total (n=535)
N Mean±SD F (P)a N Mean±SD F (P)a N Mean±SD F (P)a
Age                  
 30–35 8 0.28±0.70 0.85 (0.470) 13 0.12±0.22 2.02 (0.111) 21 0.18±0.46 0.43 (0.733)
 36–40 85 0.14±0.29   91 0.13±0.37   177 0.13±0.33  
 41–45 134 0.16±0.40   125 0.12±0.36   259 0.14±0.39  
 ≥45 43 0.08±0.22   33 0.32±0.75   75 0.19±0.53  
Education
 ≤Middle school 3 0.07±0.12 0.06 (0.983) 6 0.23±0.39 2.28 (0.080) 9 0.18±0.32 1.40 (0.241)
 High school 161 0.14±0.39   147 0.09±0.33   308 0.12±0.37  
 College/university 104 0.15±0.31   105 0.23±0.54   209 0.19±0.44  
 ≥Graduate school 2 0.10±0.14   4 0.00±0.00   6 0.03±0.08  
Employment                  
 Full-time employed 124 0.14±0.33 1.14 (0.322) 131 0.14±0.42 0.16 (0.855) 255 0.14±0.38 0.23 (0.797)
 Part-time employed 31 0.06±0.12   39 0.18±0.58   70 0.13±0.44  
 None 115 0.17±0.42   92 0.15±0.38   207 0.16±0.40  
Frequency of eating general snacks
≥2 times/d 52 0.17±0.38 0.70 (0.497) 47 0.24±0.64b 3.09 (0.047) 99 0.20±0.52b 3.28 (0.038)
 1 time/d 120 0.16±0.42   115 0.15±0.40bc   235 0.16±0.41bc  
 ≤3 times/wk 101 0.11±0.24   100 0.07±0.16c   201 0.09±0.21c  
Frequency of purchasing premium snacks
 ≥1 time/d 5 0.44±0.88 1.31 (0.272) 6 0.78±1.15bc 6.25 (<0.001) 11 0.63±1.00b 6.57 (<0.001)
 3–6 times/wk 11 0.19±0.31   6 0.28±0.31c   17 0.22±0.31c  
 1–2 times/wk 39 0.12±0.24   36 0.27±0.69c   75 0.19±0.51c  
 Rare 217 0.14±0.36   211 0.11±0.32c   428 0.12±0.34c  

a Calculated by oneway analysis of variance.

b Significantly different by Duncan's multiple range test.

d Some variables have different total numbers due to missing values.

Table 5.
Perceptions on premium snacks in children and their mothersa
    Boy (n=273) Girl (n=262) Boy vs. Girl
No Item Boy Boy's mother t (P)b Girl Girl's mother t (P)b t (P)c
1 I'm interested in purchasing premium snacks 2.90±1.18 3.14±1.08 –2.551 (0.011) 3.11±1.09 3.11±1.03 0.045 (0.964) –2.17 (0.030)
2 I think premium snacks are healthier than general snacks 3.47±1.20 3.20±0.99 3.179 (0.002) 3.59±1.01 3.18±0.92 5.395 (<0.001) –1.21 (0.229)
3 I trust the nutrients and ingredients of the premium snacks 3.24±1.16 2.86±0.93 4.703 (<0.001) 3.29±0.99 2.99±0.83 3.976 (<0.001) –0.54 (0.590)
4 I think that the price of premium snacks are reasonable 2.49±1.06 2.26±0.84 2.931 (0.004) 2.47±0.81 2.35±0.86 1.619 (0.107) 0.26 (0.792)
5 I think premium snacks are delicious 3.18±1.13 2.80±0.82 5.088 (<0.001) 3.30±0.97 2.89±0.76 5.715 (<0.001) –1.28 (0.201)
6 I think premium snacks contain less food additives 3.09±0.92 3.00±0.93 1.239 (0.216) 3.13±0.78 3.11±0.81 0.114 (0.910) –0.46 (0.648)
7 I think premium snacks are safer than general snacks 3.34±1.07 3.00±0.87 4.289 (<0.001) 3.36±0.91 3.08±0.80 4.270 (<0.001) –0.27 (0.787)
8 I prefer premium snacks to general snacks 2.55±1.20 2.54±0.95 0.130 (0.897) 2.56±1.04 2.66±0.98 –1.216 (0.225) –0.08 (0.939)
  Totald 24.26±6.70 22.80±5.83 3.127 (0.002) 24.80±5.58 23.37±5.26 3.437 (0.001) –1.01 (0.312)

a Perception scores (1: strongly disagree-5: strongly agree) are presented as means±SD.

b Calculated by paired t-test.

c Calculated by t-test.

d Sum of the perception scores from all eight questions.

Table 6.
Correlations between perceptions on premium snacks in mothers and the frequency of eating premium snacks in childrena
No. Perceptions in mothers Boy (n=273) Girl (n=262) Total (n=535)
1 I'm interested in purchasing premium snacks 0.071 0.128b 0.099b
2 I think premium snacks are healthier than general snacks 0.128b 0.137b 0.132c
3 I trust the nutrients and ingredients of the premium snacks 0.188c 0.085 0.139c
4 I think that the price of premium snacks are reasonable 0.114 0.094 0.104b
5 I think premium snacks are delicious 0.093 0.021 0.058
6 I think premium snacks contain less food additives 0.161c 0.087 0.126c
7 I think premium snacks are safer than general snacks 0.167c 0.069 0.120c
8 I prefer premium snacks to general snacks 0.113 0.171c 0.141c
  Total scored 0.163c 0.137c 0.150e

a Pearson's correlation coefficients (r) between the perception score for premium snacks in mothers (1: strongly disagree-5: strongly agree) and the frequency of eating premium snacks in children (times/day).

b P<0.05.

c P<0.01.

d Sum of the perception scores from all eight questions.

e P<0.001.

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