Journal List > Korean J Community Nutr > v.24(5) > 1136652

Park, Lee, and Song: Relationship between Dietary Behaviors and Life Stress of Middle School Students in Gyeonggi Area

Abstract

Objectives

The study was performed to examine the dietary behaviors and life stress of middle school students in the Gyeonggi area.

Methods

A total of 580 middle school students (295males, 285 females) in the Gyeonggi area participated in the study between July and August in 2011. The study was a questionnaire-based survey that included dietary habits, dietary behaviors, and life stress.

Results

For dietary habits, the score for drinking milk was higher in male students than in female students, whereas the score for eating fruits was higher in female students compared to male students. There were significant differences in foods eaten and preferred under stress between male and female students. Male students showed significantly less changes in the number of meals, amount of meal intake, number of snacks, snack intake, frequency of overeating, and appetite during stress than female students. Life stress score of students largely came from academic factors, and female students showed higher stress levels in personal and surrounding environment factors than male students. Life stress score was significantly lower in students with high and moderate levels of dietary habits than in students with a low level of dietary habits. Total score for dietary habits and scores for eating adequate amounts of foods for each meal, considering a combination of food groups at each meal and eating green and orange vegetables, were significantly negatively correlated with life stress score. Life stress score was significantly negatively correlated with meal regularity and positively with the level of overeating.

Conclusions

This study may provide basic information on dietary habits and life stress according to gender and the relationship between dietary behaviors and life stress of middle school students, and it suggests gender-based nutrition education programs to solve undesirable dietary habits and dietary behaviors in students with higher stress.

Figures and Tables

Table 1

General characteristics of middle school students by gender

kjcn-24-384-i001

1) n (%)

Table 2

Dietary habit score of middle school students by gender

kjcn-24-384-i002

1) Mean ± SD

2) p value by t-test

Table 3

Food eaten and preferred under stress of middle school students by gender

kjcn-24-384-i003

1) n (%)

2) p value by χ2-test

Table 4

Dietary behaviors under stress of middle school students by gender

kjcn-24-384-i004

1) n (%)

2) p value by χ2-test

Table 5

Life stress score of middle school students by gender

kjcn-24-384-i005

1) Mean ± SD

2) p value by t-test

Table 6

Life stress score according to level of dietary habit score of middle school students by gender

kjcn-24-384-i006

1) Mean ± SD

2) p value by ANOVA test

high level: upper 30% of of total dietary habit score, moderate level: medium 40% of total dietary habit score, low level: lower 30% of total dietary habit score

a, b: Means with different superscript letters are significantly different at p<0.05 among 3 groups by ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test

Table 7

Correlation between dietary habit score and life stress score of middle school students

kjcn-24-384-i007

1) Pearson's correlation coefficient

2) p value

Table 8

Correlation between dietary behaviors and life stress score of middle school students

kjcn-24-384-i008

1) Pearson's correlation coefficient

2) p value

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TOOLS
ORCID iDs

Kyung Ae Park
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2812-3646

Myoung Sook Lee
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7255-3550

Kyung Hee Song
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9549-0716

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