ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to investigate the association among demographic characteristics, lifestyle, food habits, and stress status of 437 males and females aged over 25 years in Chungnam. Overall, the stress status of the subjects was high showing an average of 103 points out of 156 points based on the something scale. Results of the study revealed that marital status, exercise status, and health status had significant relationships with food habits and stress scores. The subjects who were married, had a higher frequency of exercise, and were healthier, had a significantly higher food habit score but a significantly lower stress score compared with their counterparts. Also, food habit scores had a significantly negative relationship with stress scores. Thus, this research showed possible links among healthy food habits, desirable lifestyle, and low stress status. In other words, people who experience a high level of stress may be more likely to have unhealthy food habits, resulting in a poor healthy conditions. These results show that appropriate food habits and adequate dietary management are deemed necessary for people with a high degree of stress. Further in-depth studies are needed to clarify a direct relationship between stress and food habits and to determine the proper diet that may help relieve stress.