Abstract
The eating attitudes, opinions related to health and eating habits of 382 middle school students (184 male, 198 female) living in Seoul Gangbuk and Yangphyung areas were studied. The results of this study are summarized as follows. Most middle school students (57.6%) didn’t eat breakfast. The main reasons for skipping the meal were lack of time (51.5%) and of appetite (39.3%). However, students (36.7%) recognized breakfast as being the most important meal. The self perception of health status showed that male students responded ‘good’ (58.7%) while female students responded ‘fair’ (48.5%). Overall, 42.4% of the male students were satisfied with their body shape while 71.2% of the female students wanted to get thinner. More male students (76.4%) used various diet exercises for losing weight than female students (67.0%). Students living in Yangpyeung area (79.1%) used more diet exercises than those in Seoul (61.9%). More than half (57.3%) of middle school students did not consider their food combination. More than half (56.0%) of male students took vegetables almost every meal while 50.1% of female students took them one meal per day. Most of the middle school students took fruits more than 2-3 times per week. Students living in Yangpyeung area (58.0%) consumed more milk and than those in Seoul Gangbuk (43.4%). Male students preferred saltier food than female students. The eating habit scores were 1.90 in males and 1.85 in females and these scores were increased with increasing family monthly food spending.
