Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare food habits and nutrient intakes among high school students with different obesity indexes who are residing in Seoul and Kyunggi-do. a total of 533 subjects were assigned to one of the following groups based on BMI : underweight, normal-weight and overweight. Food habits and nutrient intakes were evaluated based on questionnaires and 24hr-dietary record. The results were as follows. There was no significant differences in the general environmental characteristics of subjects with different BMI. However, the father's BMI was significantly higher in overweight female students compared to underweight or normal weight subjects. The menarch age was significantly decreased as the obesity increased. The self-satisfaction score for physical type was decreased as the BMI increased. The overweight group skipped dinner more frequently the other groups among male students. There was no significant difference in the scores of nutrition knowledge, nutritional attitude, and self -satisfaction of subjects with different BMI. The nutrient intakes of overweight group were the lowest among the three groups. In conclusion, obesity among female students may be related to family member's obesity. Also overweight students tend to have lower self satisfaction for their body image and undesirable food habits. Therefore, proper nutrition education is required to maintain desirable food habits for overweight students.

• Keywords: obesity; food habits; nutrient intakes; nutritional attitude