Objectives@# The purpose of this study was to analyze high-
sugar food consumption habits frequency among
elementary school students , and their correlations with
eating habits and sweet
taste assessment. @*
Methods @# The participants of the study were 164
elementary school students in Daegu, in the fifth or sixth grade, along with their
parents . A
questionnaire investigated
eating habits , high-
sugar food consumption habits and frequency, and sweet
taste assessment. @*Results@# The average
eating habits score for
elementary school students was determined to be 71.7 out of 100.
Students with higher
eating habits scores had lower high-
sugar food consumption habits and frequency compared to those with lower
eating habits scores. Sweet
taste assessment revealed that
students who preferred less sweetness chose a 5%
sugar concentration, those with a preference for normal sweetness chose a 10%
sugar concentration, and those
who preferred sweeter
tastes chose a 20%
sugar concentration. Sweet
taste assessment showed that
students who tended to prefer less sweetness had the highest
eating habits scores and the lowest scores for high-
sugar food consumption habits and frequency.In addition,
eating habits scores were found to be negatively correlated with high-
sugar food consumption habits , high-
sugar food consumption frequency, and sweet
taste assessment. The sweet
taste assessment was positively correlated with high-
sugar food consumption habits and frequency. @*Conclusions@# Our results indicate that
students with good
eating habits had more desirable overall
sugar intake
habits , and when the preference for sweetness was high, the frequency of high-
sugar food consumption was also high. Our study highlights the importance of educating
elementary school students and their
parents about the harmful effects of excessive
sugar consumption , as well as the benefits of adopting
healthy eating habits and creating supportive
environments .