Survey on Dietary Behaviors and Intakes of Instant Noodle (Ramyeon) Soup among College Students / 대한지역사회영양학회지

ABSTRACT

High intakes of sodium may increase the risk of hypertension or cardiovascular diseases. According to the 2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey, the average intake of sodium was 4,878 mg/day with salt, kimchi, soy sauce, fermented soybean paste and Ramyeon being the five main sources of sodium. In order to identify solutions to reduce the intake of sodium, we investigated the intake patterns and eating behaviors of Ramyeon among 347 college students (male 146, female 201) using survey questionnaires. The average age of study subjects was 23.7 years for males and 20.5 years for females. The average Body Mass Index (kg/m2) was 21.9 for males and 20.1 for females. The average frequency of Ramyeon intake was 2.0 times/week. The main reason for eating Ramyeon was convenience (56%), followed by good taste (27%), low price (11%) and other reasons (9%). The criteria for choosing Ramyeon were taste (72%), convenience (14%), price (7%), nutrition (1%), and the other factors (2%). Males' average intake of Ramyeon soup (61%) was higher than that of the females (36%). The estimated intake of Ramyeon soup by survey showed a positive correlation with the measured intake of Ramyeon soup. Sodium contents of Ramyeon were measured separately for the noodles and the soup, which were 1,185 mg/serving and 1,148 mg/serving each. Therefore, the amount of sodium intake can be reduced if students eat less Ramyeon soup. Also, we observed that dietary behaviors and soup intakes of Ramyeon between the sexes were different. Appropriate nutritional education for proper eating habits may help decrease the intake of sodium.