Eating Behavior, Nutrition knowledge, and Educational Needs of the Food and Nutrition of Elementary School Students in the Gyeungnam Province

Article information

Korean J Community Nutr. 2013;18(1):11-24

Publication date (electronic) : 2013 February 28

doi : https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2013.18.1.11

Department of food and Nutrition, Changshin University, Changwon, Korea

^†Corresponding author: Eun Sil Her, Department of food and nutrition, Changshin University, 262, Paryong-ro, Masan Hoiwongu, Changwon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do 630-764, Korea Tel: (055) 250-1203, Fax: (055) 250-1200 E-mail: heres@csc.ac.kr

Received 2012 October 11; Revised 2012 December 12; Accepted 2013 February 4.

Abstract

This study was conducted to provide basic data for development of a dietary education textbook and guidebook by investigating and analyzing eating behavior, nutrition knowledge and educational needs in elementary school students. Most of the subjects were eating three meals a day (71.5%) and breakfast (75.3%). The percentage of students who consumed proper amount of meals (49.2%) was low. The percentage of students consuming salty food and fatty foods was 28.6% and 42.1%, respectively. The consumption of meat, fish, egg, bean and tofu was high, while the consumption of vegetables, fruits and seaweed was low. The percentage of students consuming processed food was high, but the percentage reading nutrition labels (34.9%) and hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) mark (26.9%) when buying processed foods was very low. Total scores of eating behavior and nutrition knowledge were significantly higher in female students than in male students (p < 0.05-p < 0.001). The desirable frequency of the education was once a week (60.5%). The most preferred educational method was ‘experiment and cooking practice’ (40.1%). The students wanted dietary information as ‘cooking’ (39.0%). As a result of this study, many problems were found in the eating behavior of students and nutritional knowledge was observed to be low as well. On the other hand, the demand for dietary education was very high. The findings of this study suggested the need for developing dietary education programs in order to encourage proper eating habits of students.

Keywords: elementary school students; dietary education; food behavior; nutrition knowledge; educational needs

Table 1.

The general characteristics of the subjects

Table 2.

Eating Behaviors associated regularity and the amount of the meal of the subjects

Table 3.

Meal contents related eating behaviors of the subjects

Table 4.

Snack and beverage drinking related eating behaviors of the subjects

Table 5.

Hygiene and environment related eating behaviors of the subjects

Table 6.

Nutrition knowledge of the subjects

Table 7.

Needs of dietary education of the subjects

Table 8.

The most interesting dietary education contents of the subjects

References

1. Chang HS, Kim MJ. The study on dietary behaviors of elementary school student in Chungnam area according to the school food service type, gender and grade. Korean J Community Nutr 2006;11(5):608–617.

2. Cho EA, Lee SK, Heo GJ. Snack consumption behaviors and nutrition knowledge among elementary school students in Siheung-si. Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(2):169–179.

3. Park SJ. In: The development of teaching and learning guidance (TLG) of nutrition education -focusing on the 4th grade of elementary school-. Yong-in University; 2008. pp. 11. MS thesis.

4. Her ES. Development of practical dietary education textbook and teaching manual in elementary school students. Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(5):636–647.

5. Her ES, Lee KH. Utilization status of internet and dietary information of school children in Gyeongnam and Jeonbuk areas. Korean J Community Nutr 2003;8(1):15–25.

6. Her ES, Lee KH, Bae EY, Lyu ES. Interrelations among beverage intake, food behavior and personality in adolescents. Korean J Community Nutr 2008;13(2):189–198.

7. Jeong NY, Kim KW. Nutrition knowledge and eating behaviors of elementary school children in Seoul. Korean J Community Nutr 2009;14(1):55–66.

8. Jung KA. A study on the development of cookbooks for children based on the dietary behaviors of elementary school students -focused on the 5th and 6th grades of elementary school-. Korean J Culinary Res 2010;16(2):351–366.

9. Jung KA, Park SW. The study on cooking activities at home and at school among elementary school 6th graders in Gyeongbuk province. Korean J Culinary Res 2012;18(2):134–148.

10. Kim EJ. In: A study on nutrition education needs of elementary school students in Ulsan area. Ulsan University; 2009. pp. 26-32. MS thesis.

11. Kim EJ, Yang KM. General characteristics nd eating styles by gender and nutrition knowledge level in upper-grade school children in Gyeongbuk. J Korean Home Econ Assoc 2011;49(1):27–39.

12. Kim HH, Park YH, Shin EK, Shin KH, Bae IS, Lee YK. Students\' and parents, perceptions of nutrition education in elementary schools. J Korean Soc Food Sci Nutr 2006;35(8):1016–1024.

13. Kim JY, Ha AW, Kang NE. Differences in table attitudes, eating habits, and nutrition knowledge in elementary school boys and girls. Korean J Food Nutr 2010;23(4):623–632.

14. Kim KH. Food habits, eating behaviors and food frequency by gender and among seoul and other regions in upper-grade elementary school children. Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(2):180–190.

15. Kim MJ, Kim YH. Dietary habits, nutrition knowledge and dietary behaviors of the 3rd grade elementary school students in Ulsan area by sex and skipping breakfast. J East Asian Soc Diet Life 2010;20(2):209–217.

16. Kim SA, Lee BH. Relationships between the nutrient intake status, dietary habits, academic stress and academic achievement in the elementary school children in Bucheon-si. Korean J Nutr 2008;41(8):786–796.

17. Kim SH. Children\'s growth and school preference in relation in young adolescent children. Int J Eat Disord 1999;25:435–440.

18. Kim YH, Jang MR. A research on analysis of eating habits and textbook contents for efficient nutrition education of elementary school students in Gangneung city. J Korean Diet Assoc 2007;13(4):379–388.

19. Kim YO. Changes in rice consumption pattern for Korean since 1970. Korean J Community Nutr 2001;6(5):854–861.

20. Ko MH, Kim JW. Seoul elementary school students perception and information needs on artificial food colorants. Korean J Food Cookery Sci 2011;27(6):643–651.

21. Ko SY, Kim KW. Nutrition label use, self-efficacy, snacking and eating behavior of middle school students in Kyunggi area. Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(4):513–524.

22. Korea agency of education, promotion and information service in food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries2012 [cited 2012 December 18]. Available from http://www.epis.or.kr/community/index.do?boardId=pds_book.

23. Korea health statistics. Korea national health and nutrition examination survey. Ministry of health & welfare; 2010.

24. Kweon NS, Koh BK. Dietary behaviors and vegetable intakes of elementary school students at Daegu and Gyeionsangbukdo. Korean J Food Cookery Sci 2005;21(4):496–504.

25. Lee KA. Activity-based nutrition education for elementary school students. Korean J Nutr 2003;36(4):405–417.

26. Lee KA. In: Developments of contents and materials for the education and the advertisement for lowing intakes of trans fatty acids, sugar and sodium. Seoul: Korea Food & Drug Administration; 2007.

27. Lee KH, Her ES, Woo TJ. Development of nutrition education textbook and teaching manual in elementary school. J Korean Diet Assoc 2005;11(2):205–215.

28. Ministry of education, science and technology2007 revised curriculum. 2012 [cited 2012 December 18]. Available from http://cutis.mest.go.kr/main.jsp?gCd=S02&siteCmsCd=CM0001.

29. Na SY, Ko SY, Eom SH, Kim SW. Intakes and beliefs of vegetables and fruits, self-efficacy, nutrition knowledge, eating behavior of elementary school students in Kyunggi area. Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(3):329–341.

30. Nam ES, Jung AY, Park SI. Survey on the intake and consumption patterns of milk and dairy products by elementary school students. Korean J Food Nutr 2011;24(2):191–203.

31. Oh SH, Lee YS. A study on recognition, utilization of food and nutrition labelling of elementary school students. Korean J Hum Ecol 2010;19(6):1083–1094.

32. Oh YJ, Lee YM, Kim JH, Ahn HS, Kim JW, Park HR, Seo JS, Kim KW, Kwon OR, Park HK, Lee EJ, Sung HN. Interview survey of elementary school student\'s nutrition education and practice. Korean J Community Nutr 2008;13(4):499–509.

33. Park EH, Bae YJ, Kim SK, Kim MH, Choi MK. A study on beverage consumption of elementary school students in Chungnam. Korean J Food Nutr 2011;24(3):376–385.

34. Park MA, Moon HK, Lee KH. A study on related factors to overweight for primary school children. J Korean Diet Assoc 1998;4(2):145–151.

35. Park YS, Lee JW, Seo JS, Lee BK, Lee HS. In: Nutrition education & counseling. Paju: Kyomunsa; 2010. pp. 37.

36. The Korean Dietetic AssociationOur food culture learning interestedly. 2006 [cited 2012 December 18]. Available from http://www.dietitian.or.kr.

37. Trrell G. Determinants of gender differences in dietary behavior. Nutr Res 1997;17:1105–1120.

38. Yoo YS, Lee YH. A study on the nutritional knowledge, eating habits and nutritional attitudes of elementary school teachers. J Korean Home Econ Assoc 1995;33:193–205.

39. Yoon HJ, Yoon KS. Elementary school student\'s knowledge, behavior and request for education method associated with food safety. J Korean Diet Assoc 2007;13(2):169–182.

Article information Continued

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Table 1.

The general characteristics of the subjects

Variables	Items	N (%)
Grade	3	275 (49.5)
Grade	4	280 (50.5)
Sex	Boys	296 (53.3)
Sex	Girls	259 (46.7)
Mother's employment	Employed	335 (60.3)
Mother's employment	Unemployed	220 (39.7)
After-school activities	Studying	204 (36.8)
	Exercising or playing	143 (25.8)
	Doing computer	65 (11.6)
	Reading	41 (7.4)
	Watching TV	30 (5.4)
	Others	72 (13.0)
Total		555 (100.0)

Table 2.

Eating Behaviors associated regularity and the amount of the meal of the subjects

Variables	Frequency¹⁾	Boys	Girls	Total	χ² value
I eat three meals a day	0 − 2	33 (11.1)²⁾	17 (6.6)	50 (9.0)	3.569
	3 − 5	57 (19.3)	51 (19.7)	108 (19.5)
	6 − 7	206 (69.6)	191 (73.7)	397 (71.5)
	Total	296 (53.3)	259 (46.7)	555 (100.0)
I eat breakfast	0 − 2	16 (5.4)	15 (5.8)	31 (5.6)	0.127
	3 − 5	58 (19.6)	48 (18.5)	106 (19.1)
	6 − 7	222 (75.0)	196 (75.7)	418 (75.3)
	Total	296 (53.3)	259 (46.7)	555 (100.0)
I eat well-chewed	0 − 2	79 (26.7)	45 (17.4)	124 (22.3)	7.919^*
	3 − 5	122 (41.2)	110 (42.5)	232 (41.8)
	6 − 7	95 (32.1)	104 (40.1)	199 (35.9)
	Total	296 (53.3)	259 (46.7)	555 (100.0)
I eat grains (≥ 2 meals a day)	0 − 2	6 (2.1)	4 (1.5)	10 (1.8)	2.428
	3 − 5	70 (23.8)	48 (18.7)	118 (21.4)
	6 − 7	218 (74.1)	205 (79.8)	423 (76.8)
	Total	294 (53.4)	257 (46.6)	551 (100.0)
I eat adequate amount of meals	0 − 2	50 (17.1)	29 (11.2)	79 (14.3)	10.150^**
	3 − 5	117 (39.9)	84 (32.6)	201 (36.5)
	6 − 7	126 (43.0)	145 (56.2)	271 (49.2)
	Total	293 (53.2)	258 (46.8)	551 (100.0)
I eat a variety of foods	0 − 2	36 (12.3)	17 (6.6)	53 (9.7)	5.454
	3 − 5	140 (47.6)	123 (47.9)	263 (47.7)
	6 − 7	118 (40.1)	117 (45.5)	235 (42.6)
	Total	294 (53.4)	257 (46.6)	551 (100.0)

¹⁾

Day/week

²⁾

N (%)

: p < 0.05,

^**

: p < 0.01

Table 3.

Meal contents related eating behaviors of the subjects

Variables	Frequency¹⁾	Boys	Girls	Total	χ² value
I eat salty	0 − 2	180 (61.3)²⁾	179 (69.4)	359 (65.1)	7.997^*
	3 − 5	88 (29.9)	70 (27.1)	158 (28.6)
	6 − 7	26 (8.8)	9 (3.5)	35 (6.3)
	Total	294 (53.3)	258 (46.7)	552 (100.0)
I eat fatty food	0 − 2	152 (51.4)	140 (54.3)	292 (52.7)	0.644
	3 − 5	127 (42.9)	106 (41.0)	233 (42.1)
	6 − 7	17 (5.7)	12 (4.7)	29 (5.2)
	Total	296 (53.4)	258 (46.6)	554 (100.0)
I eat meat	0 − 2	117 (39.7)	130 (50.4)	247 (44.7)	12.148^**
	3 − 5	149 (50.5)	119 (46.1)	268 (48.4)
	6 − 7	29 (9.8)	9 (3.5)	38 (6.9)
	Total	295 (53.3)	258 (46.7)	553 (100.0)
I eat fish	0 − 2	93 (31.5)	82 (31.8)	175 (31.6)	0.055
	3 − 5	174 (59.0)	153 (59.3)	327 (59.2)
	6 − 7	28 (9.5)	23 (8.9)	51 (9.2)
	Total	295 (53.3)	258 (46.7)	553 (100.0)
I eat eggs	0 − 2	100 (33.8)	92 (35.8)	192 (34.7)	2.842
	3 − 5	156 (52.7)	142 (55.3)	298 (53.9)
	6 − 7	40 (13.5)	23 (8.9)	63 (11.4)
	Total	296 (53.5)	257 (46.5)	553 (100.0)
I eat beans or tofu	0 − 2	91 (30.8)	67 (26.2)	158 (28.7)	1.548
	3 − 5	165 (55.9)	155 (60.5)	320 (58.1)
	6 − 7	39 (13.3)	34 (13.3)	73 (13.2)
	Total	295 (53.5)	256 (46.5)	551 (100.0)
I eat vegetables every meal	0 − 2	45 (15.3)	24 (9.3)	69 (12.5)	5.654
	3 − 5	133 (45.0)	136 (52.7)	269 (48.6)
	6 − 7	117 (39.7)	98 (38.0)	215 (38.9)
	Total	295 (53.3)	258 (46.7)	553 (100.0)
I eat fruits	0 − 2	37 (12.5)	23 (8.9)	60 (10.8)	1.877
	3 − 5	125 (42.2)	114 (44.0)	239 (43.1)
	6 − 7	134 (45.3)	122 (47.1)	256 (46.1)
	Total	296 (53.3)	259 (46.7)	555 (100.0)
I eat seaweeds	0 − 2	85 (29.0)	71 (45.5)	156 (28.4)	1.111
	3 − 5	158 (53.9)	149 (58.1)	307 (55.8)
	6 − 7	50 (17.1)	37 (14.4)	87 (15.8)
	Total	293 (53.3)	257 (46.7)	550 (100.0)

¹⁾

Day/week

²⁾

N (%)

: p < 0.05,

^**

: p < 0.01

Table 4.

Snack and beverage drinking related eating behaviors of the subjects

Variables	Frequency¹⁾	Boys	Girls	Total	χ² value
I eat mainly fruit and milk	0 − 2	41 (13.9)²⁾	26 (10.2)	67 (12.1)	5.236
	3 − 5	124 (42.0)	93 (36.3)	217 (39.4)
	6 − 7	130 (44.1)	137 (53.5)	267 (48.5)
	Total	295 (53.5)	256 (46.5)	551 (100.0)
I eat frequently candy, chocolate and ice cream	0 − 2	153 (52.0)	131 (50.8)	284 (51.4)	7.405^*
	3 − 5	117 (39.8)	119 (46.1)	236 (42.8)
	6 − 7	24 (8.2)	8 (3.1)	32 (5.8)
	Total	294 (53.3)	258 (46.7)	551 (100.0)
I drink a glass of milk daily at least	0 − 2	54 (18.5)	29 (11.2)	83 (15.1)	7.016^*
	3 − 5	74 (25.3)	83 (32.2)	157 (28.5)
	6 − 7	164 (56.2)	146 (56.6)	310 (56.4)
	Total	292 (53.1)	258 (46.9)	550 (100.0)
I drink 6 − 7 glasses of water daily	0 − 2	43 (14.5)	35 (13.6)	78 (14.0)	1.846
	3 − 5	84 (28.4)	87 (33.7)	171 (30.9)
	6 − 7	169 (57.1)	136 (52.7)	305 (55.1)
	Total	296 (53.4)	258 (46.6)	554 (100.0)

¹⁾

Day/week

²⁾

N (%)

: p < 0.05

Table 5.

Hygiene and environment related eating behaviors of the subjects

Variables	Frequency¹⁾	Boys	Girls	Total	χ² value
I do not leave food	0 − 2	26 (8.8)²⁾	22 (8.6)	48 (8.7)	0.856
	3 − 5	131 (44.6)	124 (48.4)	255 (46.4)
	6 − 7	137 (46.6)	110 (43.0)	247 (44.9)
	Total	294 (53.5)	256 (46.5)	550 (100.0)
I Always wash hands before meals	0 − 2	28 (9.5)	14 (5.5)	42 (7.7)	3.316
	3 − 5	79 (26.9)	76 (30.1)	155 (28.3)
	6 − 7	187 (63.6)	163 (64.4)	350 (64.0)
	Total	294 (53.7)	253 (46.3)	547 (100.0)
I eat processed foods	0 − 2	110 (37.4)	115 (44.7)	225 (40.8)	3.881
	3 − 5	154 (52.4)	124 (48.2)	278 (50.5)
	6 − 7	30 (10.2)	18 (7.1)	48 (8.7)
	Total	294 (53.4)	257 (46.6)	551 (100.0)
I read nutrition labels when buying processed foods.	0 − 2	104 (35.7)	81 (31.5)	185 (33.8)	1.202
	3 − 5	87 (29.9)	85 (33.1)	172 (31.5)
	6 − 7	100 (34.4)	91 (35.4)	191 (34.9)
	Total	291 (53.1)	257 (46.9)	548 (100.0)
I check HACCP mark when buying processed foods.	0 − 2	131 (44.6)	99 (38.6)	230 (41.7)	2.800
	3 − 5	84 (28.6)	89 (34.6)	173 (31.4)
	6 − 7	79 (26.8)	69 (26.8)	148 (26.9)
	Total	294 (53.4)	257 (46.6)	551 (100.0)
I check shelf life when buying processed foods.	0 − 2	28 (9.5)	22 (8.5)	50 (9.1)	2.228
	3 − 5	70 (23.6)	49 (18.9)	119 (21.4)
	6 − 7	198 (66.9)	188 (72.6)	386 (69.5)
	Total	296 (53.3)	259 (46.7)	555 (100.0)
I participate in meal preparation.	0 − 2	42 (14.3)	18 (6.9)	60 (10.8)	9.470^**
	3 − 5	125 (42.5)	105 (40.6)	230 (41.6)
	6 − 7	127 (43.2)	136 (52.5)	263 (47.6)
	Total	294 (53.2)	259 (46.8)	553 (100.0)
I wash the dishes.	0 − 2	130 (43.9)	61 (23.6)	191 (34.4)	25.558^***
	3 − 5	119 (40.2)	138 (53.3)	257 (46.3)
	6 − 7	47 (15.9)	60 (23.1)	107 (19.3)
	Total	296 (53.3)	259 (46.7)	555 (100.0)

¹⁾

day/week

²⁾

N (%)

^**

: p < 0.01,

^***

: p < 0.001

Table 6.

Nutrition knowledge of the subjects

Domains	Items	Boys	Girls	Total	χ² or t value
Nutrition	Important meal for brain activity	77.1¹⁾	85.2	80.9	5.883^*
	Problems with excessive intake of fat	73.9	73.8	73.9	0.000
	Problem of eating sweet	62.7	72.0	67.0	5.365^*
	Benefits of eating well-chewed	55.6	67.7	61.2	8.448^**
	Snack time	47.3	65.8	55.9	18.976^***
	Problem of eating salty	18.2	29.7	23.5	10.087^**
	Average score	3.33 ± 1.43²⁾	3.94 ± 1.40	3.62 ± 1.44	−5.003^***
Hygiene and environment	Check points when buying cookies	75.3	79.7	77.3	1.524
	Food hygiene	47.9	53.9	50.7	1.942
	Food waste	46.2	48.6	47.3	0.331
	Right washing-up	37.1	47.8	42.1	6.418^**
	Average score	2.07 ± 1.18	2.33 ± 1.13	2.20 ± 1.16	−2.597^*
Food	Kind of seaweeds	76.6	85.3	80.7	6.616^**
	Fish with good ingredients in the brain	67.7	81.9	74.3	14.310^***
	Milk products	64.8	65.8	65.3	0.052
	Heathy drinks	53.7	75.5	63.9	28.103^***
	Kind of grains	34.1	36.8	35.4	0.435
	Average score	2.98 ± 1.29	3.46 ± 1.14	3.21 ± 1.24	−4.525^***
Cooking	How to slice potatoes for roasting	37.2	55.3	45.6	17.999^***
	How to cook spinach	30.4	39.2	34.5	4.716^*
	Proper washing fruit	28.4	35.8	31.9	3.422^*
	Average score	0.96 ± 0.87	1.30 ± 0.91	1.12 ± 0.91	−4.433^***
Traditional dietary culture	Eating cake on New Year's Day	70.1	76.3	73.0	2.622
	A material of rice cake	54.1	69.2	61.1	12.851^***
	Fermented soy foods	52.8	58.5	55.4	1.802
	Seasonal eating dongchimi	25.2	23.0	24.2	0.344
	Average score	2.04 ± 1.14	2.28 ± 1.07	2.14 ± 1.11	−2.532^*
	Total score	11.36 ± 4.06	13.45 ± 3.74	12.37 ± 4.03	−5.734^***

¹⁾

Percentage of correct answers

²⁾

Mean ± SD

: p < 0.05,

^**

: p < 0.01,

^***

: p < 0.001

Table 7.

Needs of dietary education of the subjects

Variables	Items	Boys	Girls	Total	χ² value
Necessity of deitary education	Yes	248 (84.9)¹⁾	234 (91.4)	482 (88.0)	5.398^*
	No	44 (15.1)	22 (8.6)	66 (12.0)
	Total	292 (53.3)	256 (46.7)	548 (100.0)
Desirable dietary education frequency	Once/week	152 (55.1)	166 (66.4)	318 (60.5)	12.456^*
	Twice/month	35 (12.7)	34 (13.6)	69 (13.1)
	Once/month	44 (15.9)	31 (12.4)	75 (14.3)
	Once/session	25 (9.1)	12 (4.8)	37 (7.0)
	Once/year	20 (7.2)	7 (2.8)	27 (5.1)
	Total	276 (52.5)	250 (47.5)	526 (100.0)
Desirable dietary education activity	Experiment·practice	100 (34.6)	103 (40.2)	203 (37.2)	26.777^***
	Making	68 (23.5)	86 (33.6)	154 (28.3)
	Games	44 (15.2)	14 (5.5)	58 (10.6)
	Figure drawing	21 (7.3)	26 (10.2)	47 (8.6)
	Discussion	16 (5.5)	9 (3.5)	25 (4.6)
	Role-play	17 (5.9)	7 (2.7)	24 (4.4)
	Counseling	12 (4.2)	5 (2.0)	17 (3.1)
	Others	11 (3.8)	6 (2.3)	17 (3.2)
	Total	289 (53.0)	256 (47.0)	545 (100.0)
Desirable education materials	Realia	66 (23.1)	86 (33.9)	152 (28.1)	51.005^***
	Computer material	73 (25.5)	25 (9.8)	98 (18.1)
	Videotape·CD	59 (20.6)	26 (10.2)	85 (15.7)
	Picture·drawing	30 (10.5)	45 (17.7)	75 (13.9)
	Fairy tale·cartoon	33 (11.5)	28 (11.0)	61 (11.3)
	Sticker	8 (2.8)	24 (9.4)	32 (5.9)
	Flannel graph	8 (2.8)	5 (2.1)	13 (2.4)
	Recording tape	4 (1.5)	8 (3.1)	12 (2.3)
	Puppet	5 (1.7)	7 (2.8)	12 (2.3)
	Total	286 (53.0)	254 (47.0)	540 (100.0)
Route to obtain dietary information	Parents	72 (25.3)	89 (35.2)	161 (29.9)	10.297
	Internet	67 (23.5)	52 (20.6)	119 (22.1)
	Television	64 (22.5)	48 (19.0)	112 (20.8)
	Book	37 (13.0)	38 (15.0)	75 (13.9)
	Teacher	15 (5.3)	12 (4.7)	27 (5.1)
	Newspaper	18 (6.3)	8 (3.2)	26 (4.8)
	Others	12 (4.1)	6 (2.3)	18 (3.4)
	Total	285 (53.0)	253 (47.0)	538 (100.0)

¹⁾

N (%)

: p < 0.05,

^***

: p < 0.001

Table 8.

The most interesting dietary education contents of the subjects

Variables	Items	Boys	Girls	Total	χ² value
Dietary education information	Cooking	83 (28.8)¹⁾	129 (50.6)	212 (39.0)	34.885^***
	Traditional dietary culture	59 (20.5)	45 (17.6)	104 (19.2)
	Growth and nutrition	58 (20.1)	44 (17.3)	102 (18.8)
	Table manners	29 (10.1)	17 (6.7)	46 (8.4)
	Food information	23 (8.0)	10 (3.9)	33 (6.1)
	Hygiene and environment	24 (8.3)	7 (2.7)	31 (5.7)
	Others	12 (4.2)	3 (1.2)	15 (2.8)
	Total	288 (53.0)	255 (47.0)	543 (100.0)
Foods	Fruit	40 (14.0)	72 (28.9)	112 (21.0)	43.833^***
	Processed food	57 (20.1)	34 (13.7)	91 (17.1)
	Vegetable	23 (8.1)	43 (17.3)	66 (12.4)
	Seaweed	32 (11.3)	24 (9.6)	56 (10.5)
	Meat	32 (11.3)	11 (4.4)	43 (8.1)
	Cereal	19 (6.7)	19 (7.6)	38 (7.1)
	Water	22 (7.7)	16 (6.4)	38 (7.1)
	Fish	24 (8.5)	13 (5.3)	37 (6.9)
	Milk	13 (4.6)	11 (4.4)	24 (4.5)
	Others	22 (7.7)	6 (2.4)	28 (5.3)
	Total	284 (53.3)	249 (46.7)	533 (100.0)
Dietary habits	Heathy eating	75 (26.2)	86 (34.3)	161 (29.9)	25.904^*
	Eating the variable foods	75 (26.2)	53 (21.1)	128 (23.8)
	Proper snack	31 (10.8)	35 (13.9)	66 (12.3)
	Balanced eating	23 (8.0)	26 (10.4)	49 (9.1)
	Eat less fat	19 (6.6)	26 (10.4)	45 (8.4)
	Avoidance of eating sweet	21 (7.3)	9 (3.6)	30 (5.6)
	Eating the breakfast	13 (4.5)	7 (2.8)	20 (3.7)
	Do not eat salty	13 (4.5)	5 (2.0)	18 (3.3)
	Others	17 (5.9)	4 (1.5)	21 (3.9)
	Total	287 (53.3)	251 (46.7)	538 (100.0)
Traditional dietary culture	Traditional cookie	94 (32.3)	80 (31.5)	174 (31.9)	15.013
	Traditional fermented food	70 (24.1)	52 (20.5)	122 (22.3)
	Table manners	48 (16.5)	51 (20.1)	99 (18.2)
	Traditional festival food	40 (13.7)	48 (18.9)	88 (16.2)
	Rites of passage food	22 (7.6)	20 (7.9)	42 (7.7)
	Others	17 (5.8)	3 (1.1)	20 (3.7)
	Total	291 (53.4)	254 (46.6)	545 (100.0)
Hygiene and environment	Washing hands	95 (32.5)	64 (24.9)	159 (29.0)	12.816
	Eco-friendly agricultural products	43 (14.7)	49 (19.2)	92 (16.8)
	Our local food	35 (12.0)	37 (14.5)	72 (13.2)
	Selection of hygienic processed food	40 (13.7)	30 (11.7)	70 (12.8)
	Proper separation of food waste	34 (11.6)	31 (12.1)	65 (11.8)
	Nutrition labeling	19 (6.5)	22 (8.6)	41 (7.5)
	Washing-up	13 (4.5)	19 (7.4)	32 (5.8)
	Others	13 (4.5)	4 (1.6)	17 (3.1)
	Total	292 (53.3)	256 (46.7)	548 (100.0)
Cooking activity	Bread·cookie	76 (26.5)	103 (40.2)	179 (32.9)	34.517^***
	Noodle	94 (32.4)	45 (17.6)	139 (25.5)
	Rice	34 (11.7)	40 (15.6)	74 (13.6)
	Vegetable	25 (8.7)	35 (13.7)	60 (11.0)
	Fish	23 (7.9)	15 (5.9)	38 (7.0)
	Beverage	20 (6.9)	11 (4.3)	31 (5.7)
	Others	17 (5.9)	7 (2.7)	24 (4.3)
	Total	289 (53.0)	256 (47.0)	545 (100.0)

¹⁾

N (%)

: p < 0.05,

^***

: p < 0.001