Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of the gender, obesity rate, nutrition knowledge and dietary attitude on the dietary self-efficacy of adolescents. The subjects were 1,022 (518 male, 504 female), aged 13 - 17 years living in Busan, Masan, Jinju and Jinhae city. This survey was conducted from April 8 to April 22, 2002 by questionnaires and data were analyzed by SPSS program. The results are summarized as follows. Nutrition knowledge scores and dietary selfefficacy scores of the females were higher than those of the males. The higher the nutrition knowledge and dietary attitude scores, the higher dietary self-efficacy. Dietary attitude has direct effects on dietary self-efficacy and obesity rate has indirect effects which was mediated by nutrition knowledge. Gender and nutrition knowledge have direct effects and indirect effects which were mediated by dietary attitude. Dietary attitude showed the greatest total causal effect in relation to dietary self-efficacy.

• Keywords: obesity rate; dietary attitude; nutrition knowledge; dietary self-efficacy