Comparison of food and nutrient intake between weekday and weekend for elementary and middle school students by gender in Busan and some parts of Kyungsangnamdo / 한국영양학회지

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status of elementary and middle school students by gender with an emphasis on comparison of nutritional intake between weekday and weekend. Survey construct included one 24-hour diet recall and two diet records, short food frequency questionnaire, and anthropometry. Eating behaviors and nutritional intake were largely different for four groups divided by age and gender ME, FE, MM, and FM. Frequency of consumption of healthful foods was significantly higher in the ME and FE groups. The highest and lowest scores for frequency of eating with parents were observed in the FE and FM groups, respectively. The amount of consumption of food groups was lower on weekends than on weekdays and this trend was more prominent in elementary schoolers compared with middle schoolers. In terms of food group consumption as well as energy and nutrient intake, the ME group showed the greatest differences between weekday and weekend, followed by FE, MM, and FM, in descending order. A significantly higher amount of potassium, phosphorus, and calcium was consumed on weekdays than on the weekend in the ME and FE groups. The amount of energy and nutrient intake was smallest in the FM group; however, the difference between weekday and weekend was minimal as well. In comparison of the subjects' energy and nutrient intake with their Korean Dietary Reference Intakes values (%KDRI), the MM group showed the most undesirable results for energy, protein, dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin, vitamin B6, calcium, and zinc. Overall, findings indicated that nutritional intake status may differ between weekday and weekend for elementary and middle schoolers by gender, suggesting that youth may benefit from nutritional education programs that stress the impact of gender and weekend effect on their dietary intake.