Eating Out Status according to Skipping and Type of Breakfast among Male High School Students in Incheon / 대한지역사회영양학회지

ABSTRACT

Objectives@#The frequency of eating out among adolescents seems to be connected to a high rate of skipping breakfast and be interrelated to various nutritional problems. The purpose of this study was to assess the dietary habits of breakfast and eating out and investigate their relationships in male adolescents. @*Methods@#This study conducted a cross-sectional survey. Dietary habits and eating out status were surveyed among 510 male students at a high school in Incheon and compared according to their breakfast skipping and breakfast type. @*Results@#The percentages of subjects in the breakfast skipping group and breakfast group were 41.0% and 59.0%, respectively, and the breakfast group comprised a Korean meal group (74%) and a convenience meal group (26%). In the breakfast skipping group, the percentage of subjects buying and eating snacks due to hunger was 39.7%. Reasons for eating breakfast among subjects who ate breakfast were because parents prepared breakfast (41.9%) and out of habit (31.5%) in the Korean meal group, in contrast to because parents prepared breakfast (36.7%) and due to hunger (29.1%) in the convenience meal group (P < 0.001). Breakfast preparer was mother (91.4%) in the Korean meal group, in contrast to mother (67.1%) and self (20.3%) in the convenience meal group (P < 0.001). A high proportion of the breakfast group woke up at 07~0730 or 0630-07, whereas a high proportion of the breakfast skipping group woke up at 07~0730 or after 0730, showing a significant difference according to breakfast skipping (P < 0.001). A high proportion of the breakfast group spent 10,000 won (32.5%) a week eating out while a high proportion of the breakfast skipping group spent 20,000 won or more (28.2%), showing a significant difference (P < 0.01). @*Conclusions@#About 40% of male high school students skipped breakfast and consumed snacks as a solution after breakfast skipping. The students who skipped breakfast spent more money on eating out. These results show that breakfast status may be related to eating out. Therefore, practical education on food choice and meal preparation along with regular breakfast instruction is needed in male adolescents.