Dietary Habits and Perception Toward Food Additives according to the Frequency of Consumption of Convenience Food at Convenience Stores among University Students in Cheongju.
10.5720/kjcn.2016.21.2.140
- Author:
Munkyong PAE
1
Author Information
1. Department of Food and Nutrition, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea. mpae@chungbuk.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
convenience food;
convenience stores;
food additives;
university students
- MeSH:
Breakfast;
Chungcheongbuk-do*;
Eating;
Education;
Fast Foods*;
Food Additives*;
Food Habits*;
Humans;
Korea;
Meals;
Parents;
Snacks;
Sodium Glutamate
- From:Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
2016;21(2):140-151
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to examine the consumption patterns of convenience food at convenience stores, dietary habits, and perception as well as knowledge of food additives among university students. METHODS: Subjects were 352 university students in Cheongju, Korea, and data was collected by a self-administered questionnaire. They were divided into three groups according to the frequency of consumption of convenience food at convenience stores: 79 rare (≤ 1 time/month), 89 moderate (2-4 times/month) and 184 frequent (≥ 2 times/week). RESULTS: More subjects from the frequent consumption group lived apart from parents (p<0.001) and possessed more pocket money (p<0.01). Frequent consumption group consumed noodles, Kimbab, and sandwich & burger significantly more often (p<0.001, respectively) than others. In addition, frequent consumption of convenience foods at convenience stores was associated with frequent breakfast skipping (p<0.05), irregular meal time (p<0.01), snacking (p<0.05), and eating late night meal (p<0.001). More from the rare consumption group had heard about food additives previously compared to the frequent consumption group (79.7% vs. 63.6%, p<0.01). Frequent consumption group showed significantly higher score than did the rare consumption group for the following questions: monosodium glutamate is harmful to your health (p<0.05), food additives are necessary for food manufacturing (p<0.005), food additives need to be labeled on products (p<0.05), there is no food additive at all if labeled as no preservatives, no coloring, and no added sugar (p<0.05). There was a significant difference in degrees of choosing products with less food additives depending on the consumption pattern. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provided a better understanding of the factors associated with frequent consumption of convenience foods at convenience stores among university students and will be useful to develop a nutrition education program for those who are more prone to consume convenience foods.
