Korean Journal of Community Nutrition

Research Article

[Korean]
Association between Eating Alone Patterns and Mental Health Conditions by Region among Korean Adults: Kyung Won Lee, Dayeon Shin; Korean J Community Nutr 2021;26(6):441-454. Published online December 31, 2021; DOI: https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2021.26.6.441

Objectives
This study investigated the association between the frequency and pattern of eating alone and the mental health status according to region in Korean adults.
Methods
The data of 10,040 Korean adults aged ≥ 19 years from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2017 and 2019 were used. Participants were divided into 4 groups based on their frequency of eating alone: none (all meals together), 1, 2, and 3 meals/day alone. The regions were divided into urban and rural areas. Mental health status was assessed by stress recognition, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation. Multivariable logistic regressions were conducted to estimate the adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) on the association of the frequency and pattern of eating alone with poor mental health after controlling for covariates.
Results
Among Korean adults, 74.1% ate more than one meal a day alone. Individuals having 3 meals a day alone tended to be less educated, single, single person households, or living in urban areas (all P < 0.05). In rural areas, those having 3 meals/ day alone had higher odds of stress recognition (AOR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.02-2.35) than those having all meals together. In urban areas, individuals eating alone 3 times/day had higher odds of stress recognition (AOR: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.31-1.96), depressive symptoms (AOR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.23-2.12), and suicidal ideation (AOR: 2.14, 95% CI: 1.42-3.22) compared to those having all meals together. Urban residents having dinner alone had higher odds of depressive symptoms (AOR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.05-1.58) and suicidal ideation (AOR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.19-2.33) than those having dinner with others.
Conclusions
Our findings showed that the frequency and patterns of eating alone were differentially associated with increased odds of poor mental health according to region of residence. Nutrition education is needed for those frequently eating alone, particularly those living in urban areas, to highlight the advantages of eating together and to ensure that they have balanced and healthy meals even if they eat alone.

Citations

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Association of ultra-processed food with diabetes and impaired fasting glucose in elderly populations (urban and rural): a cross-sectional study
Seung Jae Lee, Mi Sook Cho
Korean Journal of Community Nutrition.2024; 29(1): 51. CrossRef
How Does the Frequency of Eating-Alone among Older People in Korea Affect Their Health and Dietary Behavior?
Yongseok Kwon, Kyung Hee Hong, Yoo-Kyung Park, Sohye Kim
Nutrients.2023; 15(9): 2085. CrossRef
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Original Articles

[English]
Comparison of Dietary Behavior of Eating Alone in Single Households by Status of Workers and Age: Pil Kyoo Jo, Yu Jin Oh; Korean J Community Nutr 2019;24(5):408-421. Published online October 31, 2019; DOI: https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2019.24.5.408

Abstract PDF PubReader

OBJECTIVES
This study compared the dietary behaviors of single-person households when eating alone according to the employment pattern and age.
METHODS
A total of 566 people aged 20~59 years old were collected from the status of workers and classified into three groups according to their employment pattern (regular, non-regular workers and business owner). The subjects were collected by purposive quota sampling on a Gallup panel from June to November in 2017. The dietary behavior and perception of eating alone of the subjects were surveyed via online and self-reported questionnaires.
RESULTS
The frequency of eating alone was significantly higher in the regular group than the non-regular group and business group (p<0.01). The place of eating alone was significantly higher in the regular and non-regular group in the convenience store, and business group in the office (p<0.001). Ramen, the menu when eating alone, was significantly higher in the non-regular group than the other groups (p<0.01). The preference for eating alone was lower in the older age group (p<0.05). The young aged group (aged 20~30) ate more fast food and felt more convenience than the older aged group aged 40~50 years (p<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
Single-person households with a non-regular job have poorer dietary behavior in eating alone than those who had regular employment. In a situation of an increasing number of non-regular workers aged in their 20s and 30s, there is a high likelihood of social problems, such as health and poverty. This study highlights the need for a healthy food selection environment to improve the dietary life of single-person households with non-regular jobs for the diverse types of single-person households.

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Appetite.2024; 203: 107680. CrossRef
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Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition.2024; 53(8): 860. CrossRef
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Meera Kim
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Association between Prediabetes and Meal Patterns Related to Meal Sharing among Korean Young Adults: Eighth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2019–2020
Saebom Kim, Sehee Kim, Youngmin Kim, Seonmi Seo, Yu Jin Chung, Sam Cheol Kim
Korean Journal of Family Practice.2023; 13(3): 179. CrossRef
Impact assessment of a primary care physician counseling program for youth population
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Medicine.2022; 101(46): e31916. CrossRef
Evaluation of Dietary Habits and Health-Related Factors According to the Employment in Women in Early Adulthood - Based on the 2016~2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Yun-Jung Bae
Korean Journal of Community Nutrition.2021; 26(4): 249. CrossRef
Gender and age group differences in nutrition intake and dietary quality of Korean adults eating alone: based on Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Data, 2013–2016
Yoonjin Ahn, Youngmi Lee, Haeryun Park, Kyunghee Song
Nutrition Research and Practice.2021; 15(1): 66. CrossRef

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[English]
Effect of Eating with Family or Alone on the Self-rated Mental or Physical Health: The Elementary School Children in Daejeon Area: Soon Jung Sung, Sunja Kwon; Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(2):206-226. Published online April 30, 2010

Abstract PDF: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of eating with family or alone on the self-rated mental or physical health and then work out strategies of making people recognize the importance of eating with family and its practice. Study subjects were 610 primary school 5th- and 6th-grade students in Daejeon Area. A questionnaire survey was carried out. 57.9% of students had working mothers. The frequency of meal in a day was 2.90 +/- 0.42 and this frequency was lower in students who had working mothers (p < 0.05). The frequency of skipping breakfast (times/week) was 1.02 +/- 1.77. The frequencies of eating alone (times/week) were 1.04 +/- 1.65 for breakfast and 0.97 +/- 1.52 for dinner. Also, the frequency of eating alone for dinner was higher in students who had working mothers (p < 0.001). When the frequency of eating alone for breakfast or dinner was higher, the frequencies of skipping breakfast and dinner were also higher (for all, p < 0.01). When the frequency of eating alone for breakfast or dinner was higher, the self-rated positive mental health were lower (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively) and the self-rated negative mental health (for dinner, p < 0.05) and the self-rated negative physical health was higher (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively), thus presenting negative health. The frequencies of eating with family (times/week) were 3.37 +/- 2.50 for breakfast and 4.14 +/- 2.19 for dinner. Also, the frequency of eating with family for dinner was lower in students who had working mothers (p < 0.01). When the frequency of eating with family for breakfast was higher, the frequency of skipping breakfast was lower (p < 0.01). When the frequency of eating with family for dinner was higher, the frequency of skipping dinner was lower (p < 0.01). In addition, when the frequency of eating with family for breakfast or dinner was higher, the self-rated positive mental health were higher (for both, p < 0.01) and the self-rated negative mental health was lower (for breakfast, p < 0.01) and self-rated negative physical health were lower (for both, p < 0.01), thus presenting positive health. Therefore, in order to maintain positive health, it is necessary to recognize the importance of eating with family at home and educate people to carry out a systematic and continuous dietary life, thus increasing eating with family and reducing eating alone and skipping a meal.

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