Lifestyle, Dietary Behavior and Snack Preference of Upper-grade Elementary School Students in Cheongju according to the Usage Time of Smartphones

Article information

Korean J Community Nutr. 2017;22(1):40-52

Publication date (electronic) : 2017 February 28

doi : https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2017.22.1.40

Department of Food and Nutrition, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea.

Corresponding author: Munkyong Pae. Department of Food and Nutrition, Chungbuk National University, 1 Chungdae-ro, Seowon-gu, Cheongju, 28644, Korea. Tel: (043) 261-2745, Fax: (043) 267-2742, mpae@chungbuk.ac.kr

Received 2017 February 06; Revised 2017 February 21; Accepted 2017 February 22.

Abstract

Objectives

This study was conducted to examine the length of exposure to smartphone and its association with dietary behavior toward snacks, lifestyle, and nutrition knowledge in elementary school students.

Methods

Subjects were 372 5th and 6th grade schoolchildren in Cheongju, Korea, and data was collected by a self-administered questionnaire. They were divided into two groups by the time spent using smartphone: moderate (< 2 hours/day) and overexposure (≥ 2 hours/day). Data was analyzed using frequency analysis, χ²-test, and independent t-test as well as analysis of covariance when necessary.

Results

Approximately half of subjects (41.4%) reported spending ≥ 2 hours/day using smartphone. That habit was more frequent among students in the 6th grade, those who received more monthly allowance, and who has a working mother. 63.4% of the subjects reported that they consumed snacks while watching television, using a computer and/or a smartphone and 48.1% said that they consumed snacks while they use a smartphone. Both situations were most prevalent among those with overexposure to smartphone (≥ 2 hours/day). We also observed that a higher percentage of subjects from the overexposure group spent more money on snack foods with the preference for ice cream, fast food, and carbonated drinks. Further, those in the overexposure group consumed more ice cream, cookies, and carbonated drinks. In addition, they had less desirable dietary behavior and health-related lifestyle (sleep duration and frequency of regular exercise) compared to those with moderate smartphone usage (< 2 hours/day). However, there was no statistical difference in nutrition knowledge among children with different degrees of smartphone usage.

Conclusions

Our results showed that longer smartphone use was associated with less desirable snack preference/consumption and other dietary behavior in elementary school students. Thus interest and positive attitudes towards healthy snacks and diet should be reinforced in nutrition education programs, especially for those who are prone to use smartphones.

Keywords: elementary school students; smartphone use; snack preference; dietary behavior

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the intramural research grant of Chungbuk National University in 2015

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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/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Funded by : Chungbuk National Universityhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002461

Table 1

General characteristics of the study subjects by smartphone usage time

1) N (%)

2) Obesity index = (body weight – standard body weight) / standard body weight × 100

3) Non-addicted (S-scale score ≤ 41 pt), Addicted (S-scale score ≥ 42 pt)

^*: p < 0.05, ^**: p < 0.01, ^***: p < 0.001

Table 2

Snacking behaviors of the study subjects by smartphone usage time

1) N (%)

2) N = 297: Multiple responses among subjects who answered yes for consuming snack foods during TV watching, computer and/or smartphone use

^*: p < 0.05, ^***: p < 0.001

Table 3

Snack preferences by the smartphone usage time of the study subjects

1) Adjusted by gender and grade

2) Mean±SD

3) 5-point Likert scale was used from 1 (strongly dislike) to 5 (strongly like)

‡‡: p < 0.01 (Grade difference)

†: p < 0.05, †††: p < 0.001 (Gender difference)

^*: p < 0.05, ^**: p < 0.01

Table 4

Intake frequency of snack foods by the smartphone usage time of the study subjects

1) Adjusted by gender and grade

2) Mean±SD: eating frequency per a week

‡: p < 0.05, ‡‡: p < 0.01 (Grade difference)

†: p < 0.05, ††: p < 0.01 (Gender difference)

^*: p < 0.05, ^**: p < 0.01

Table 5

Dietary behavior of the study subjects by smartphone usage time

1) Adjusted by gender and grade

2) 5-point Likert scale was used from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)

3) Mean±SD

4) 5-point Likert scale was used from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree)

‡: p < 0.05, ‡‡: p < 0.01 (Grade difference)

†: p < 0.05, ††: p < 0.01 (Gender difference)

^*: p < 0.05, ^**: p < 0.01, ^***: p < 0.001

Table 6

Nutrition knowledge of the study subjects by smartphone usage time

1) Adjusted by gender and grade

2) Score 1 for correct answer, score 0 for wrong answer or I don't know, Mean±SD

‡: p < 0.05 (Grade difference)

†: p < 0.05, ††: p < 0.01 (Gender difference)

^*: p < 0.05

Table 7

Dietary habits and lifestyle of the study subjects by smartphone usage time

1) N (%)

^*: p < 0.05