• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.517-524
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: There are limited studies investigating the eating patterns of children's favorite foods. The present study aimed to evaluate a wide range of children's favorite foods, derive its eating patterns, and identify factors related to the patterns. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A nationwide cross-sectional study included 5,458 students in elementary, middle, and high schools. The survey was conducted at each school to evaluate children's favorite food intake, including the intake frequency of 31 food items or food groups, and its related factors, such as demographic, economic, and environmental characteristics and awareness of policies on children's favorite foods. Factor analysis using varimax rotation method and logistic regression analysis were conducted. RESULTS: Two factors were derived as major eating patterns from data of children's favorite foods: the 'unhealthy eating pattern' which mainly involves confectionery, chocolate, ramen, fried food, etc.; and the 'healthy eating pattern' which mainly involves soybean milk, vegetables, fruit juice, and nuts. A stepwise selection procedure through the regression analysis revealed that allowance, use of screen media, less awareness of policies on children's favorite foods, and less interest in health were positively related to the tendency of unhealthy or less-healthy eating patterns (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study examined that the eating patterns of children's favorite foods were associated with certain environmental characteristics and awareness about the related policies. These findings suggest that a nutrition education program regarding children's favorite foods needs to be conducted according to the characteristics of students to develop their healthy eating habits and proper choice of favorite foods.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate the parents' perceptions of children's favorite foods. Mothers of elementary school students in Seoul were asked in a survey about their perceptions of children's favorite foods and their opinions of the related policy. Respondents pointed out the problems of children's favorite foods including insufficient sanitation, concerns with food additives, untrustworthy manufacturer, unsafe food distribution system and overuse of MSG. Overall hazardous perceptions of children's favorite foods were 2.71 out of 4.00. Most respondents believed that the children's favorite foods contained some harmful ingredients or over nutrients, and 69.2% of those respondents knew exactly which ingredients may cause children's health problems. The hazardous perception of chocolate, yogurt, sport drink and fruit drink were low compared to others, whereas hazardous perceptions and accuracy were high in candies, icebars, hamburgers and pizza, In terms of comprehensive countermeasures against unsafe children's foods, the respondents perceived that the establishment of standard amounts of nutrient value and food additives was the most important issue.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.106-116
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• 2019

Objectives: This study examined the status of children's favorite foods intake and the relationship with the policy environment based on the Special Act on Safety Control of Children's Dietary Life for suggesting a supportive policy strategy. Methods: The subjects were 4th grade students (n=1,638) in elementary school from 45 schools collected from seven areas (Seoul, Daegu, Daejeon, Gyeonggi, Chungnam, Jeonbuk, and Gyeongnam). The children participated in a self-administered questionnaire survey in class under the supervision of the teacher. The questionnaire consisted of items, such as social demographic characteristics, frequency of intake of the children's favorite foods, and policy cognition. A t-test and ANOVA were applied to explore the relationship between the frequency of children's favorite foods intake and policy cognition. The survey was implemented from August 2016 to September 2016. Results: For the boys, the frequency of 'high-calorie low nutrient foods intake' (HCLN) was significantly higher than that of the girls (p<0.01). For the children who received information on their favorite foods from the internet, the frequency of HCLN was higher than the other sources (p<0.01). The time of TV viewing and computer usage, and smartphone usage was associated with a higher frequency of HCLN, and a lower healthy favorite food intake (all p<0.001). The intake frequency of healthy favorite foods indicated a positive correlation with the policy cognition, including policy perception, usefulness, necessity and buying intention, and educational experience. Conclusions: This study showed a correlation with the frequency of children's favorite foods intake and policy. In particular, the frequency of children's healthy favorite foods intake indicated a meaningful relationship with the policy than the frequency of HCLN. This study also found that the consumption of children's healthy favorite foods was positively correlated with the educational experience. To develop a supportive policy for a good dietary environment for children, there is a need to focus on how to collaborate with multiple levels of influences, such as the national level, school level, and family.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.176-185
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• 2016

This study was performed to investigate elementary school children's awareness on children's favorite foods and their consumption behavior of the foods. This study also focused on the association between the variables and gender/grade. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with direct interview among three hundreds and six elementary school children (188 boys and 118 girls) from 13 schools of a city of Korea, using a structured questionnaire. Among the overall proportion, more than 20% of the respondents did not know children's favorite foods and/or have no information source on the foods. More than 60% of the respondents consumed children's favorite foods more than 1 to 2 times a week. Only 16% respondents got information on children's favorite foods at home and 37% at school. There were significant correlations (p < 0.05) between gender/grades and knowledge/route of information on children's favorite foods. Boys had more knowledge than girls (p < 0.05), however they showed worse attitude on children's favorite foods and consumed more the foods. The higher grade children had more knowledge, better attitude and various routes of information on children's favorite foods (p < 0.05), but consumed more the foods. The results of this study indicate that there is a discrepancy between knowledge and attitude/behavior. This study also indicate that school food-service program and food hygiene/safety education in school and at home should be improved. Strong implementation of laws for regulation of selling adulterated food around elementary school may be another step in controlling consumption of the food by school children.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.475-488
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• 2010

The daily caffeine intake from elementary school children's favorite foods was surveyed and evaluated. Children may respond to caffeine differently from adults because they have different physiological makeup and are functionally immature. Therefore, caffeine exposure may have more serious consequences for children than for adults, irrespective of sensitivity. Their preference, perception, and intake of caffeine from children's favorite foods were investigated by questionnaire for 355 children. The order of children's preference over foods containing caffeine was ice cream and ices, confectionary, milk and milk products, and soft beverage. The daily caffeine intake of children was estimated to range from 0.16 to 917.28 mg/day, with an average of $36.04\;{\pm}\;82.7$ mg/day and $36.9\;{\pm}\;96.0$ mg/day for boys and girls, respectively. The daily caffeine intake according to body weight was $1.08\;{\pm}\;2.23$ mg/kg and $1.12\;{\pm}\;2.66$ mg/kg for boys and girls, respectively. The percentage of acceptable daily intake (ADI) of caffeine was 43.4% for boys and 44.9% for girls. The sources of caffeine for boys and girls were soft beverage (18.3 mg and 16.1 mg), milk and milk products (8.9 mg and 8.5 mg), ice cream and ices (5.7 mg and 7.3 mg), chocolate (1.6 mg and 3.2 mg), and confectionery (1.6 mg and 1.8 mg).

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.524-532
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• 2010

The Na, component of salt, can increase the risk of high blood pressure and hypertension. Especially, children are exposed to an increased risk of high sodium intake, because they often consume Na-rich processed foods and commercially prepared foods in the street. However, the database for the sodium and chloride content for these children's favorite foods is insufficient. In this study, the Na and Cl contents in 89 children's favorite foods were analyzed by using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) method. The analyzed food items were presented after being classified into 33 kinds of food groups. The Na contents in 100 g children's favorite foods ranged from 0.3 mg to 35.1mg in fruits, 28.9mg to 82.5mg in milks, 127.2 mg to 602.2 mg in breads, cakes, sandwiches, and rice cakes, 2.5 mg to 1169.9 mg in candies, cookies and ice creams, 226.9 mg to 693.7 mg in commercially prepared street foods, and 103.4 mg to 875.8 mg in fast foods of westernized restaurant. Among children's favorite food groups, 100 g fried chicken, hotdog, burgers, and donuts contained an average Na of 536 mg, 553 mg, 794 mg, and 562.2 mg, respectively, so they are classified as 'high Na foods'. In contrast, 100 g fruits and dairy products contained Na an average 4.9 mg and 43.4 mg, respectively, being classified as 'low Na foods'. One serving of ramen, mandu noodle, and burger pizza can supply over 667mg Na, which is one third of the KDRI targeted intake. Likewise, the Cl contents in children's favorite foods were diverse according to food groups. The Cl contents in the analyzed foods differed from the 1.5 times of Na content, which is assumed in general. This study showed that the Na and Cl contents in children's favorite foods are very diverse. Conclusively, a strategy to reduce Na contents in the fast foods such as noodles and westernized restaurant foods is necessary for children health.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.501-512
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• 2017

This study analyzed changes in nutrient contents of children's favorite foods between March 2010 and July 2012 after policy implementation on energy-dense and nutrient-poor (EDNP) foods based on Special Act on Safety Control of Children's Dietary Life in Korea. A total of 6,684 products in the list of children's favorite foods by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in March 2010 and 7,347 products in July 2012 were classified into the following three types: food products (1) manufactured or sold in 2012 as well as 2010 (n=6,174), (2) discontinued in 2012 (n=510), and (3) newly introduced in 2012 (n=1,173). Among children's favorite foods manufactured or sold in 2012 as well as 2010 (n=6,174), calories and key nutrients in sweetened ices, breads, ice creams, deep-fried noodles/noodles, ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, and pizzas were improved in comparison to those in the other food groups. However, most of the changes in calories or key nutrient contents per 100 g (or 100 mL) fell below 1 kcal or 1 g. The newly introduced candies, breads, and carbonated beverages showed slightly greater improvements in calories and key nutrient contents per 100 g (or 100 mL) than the discontinued ones in 2012. On the other hand, some negative changes were found in newly introduced chocolates and RTE foods in comparison to the discontinued ones. Overall, policy implementation on EDNP foods seemed to induce changes in nutrient contents of children's favorite foods, yet the extent of the changes was limited.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.353-362
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• 2017

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the perception of quality-certified children's preferred foods as well as consumption behaviors of nursery directors and parents. Methods: A total of 243 nursery directors and parents of preschool children were surveyed using questionnaires. Results: Parents' perception scores were lower than directors' scores for many of the questions. Parents showed significantly higher scores for food safety standard questions and nutritional fortifying questions than directors (p<0.001 each). On the other hand, directors showed significantly higher scores for questions about products nutrition and safety (p<0.001, p<0.01). When buying children's favorite food items, food additives and hygiene level of vendors were the most important, in that order. Parents' scores for questions on purchasing behaviors of quality-certified children's preferred foods were significantly higher than those of directors'. Further, respondents with nutritional education experience showed high behavior scores. Conclusion: It can be concluded that promotion of quality-certified children's preferred foods is insufficient. The nutrition education group showed high scores for perception and positive consumption behaviors of quality-certified children's preferred foods. It is important to cooperate with nursery directors and parents of preschoolers to further children's nutritional education.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.302-312
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• 2004

This study aimed at examine dietary attitude, eating behavior and food preferences of children in child care center. The children involved in this study were 153 boys and 134 girls, aged 3 to 6 years old. The eating frequency of breakfast and the number of meal times a day were significant difference according to sex(P<0.01). Reason for skipping breakfast was ‘no appetite’(49.3%). It was found that 51.5% of the children belonged to ‘fair’ in food habit score, while children in ‘poor’ and in ‘excellent’ were 25.0% and 9.7% respectively. There was no significant difference in food habit score between boys and girls. Their preferred staple foods were ‘cooked rice’ and ‘Chajangmyon’, their preferred soup was ‘seaweed soup’. Also, their most preferred side dishes with animal foods were ‘fried chicken’ and ‘Bulgogi’. The preference of ‘hard boiled soybean curd’ and ‘pan fried soybean curd’ among the side dishes with vegetable foods were significant according to the obesity index(P<0.05). Children preferred side dishes with animal foods to those with vegetable foods. First considered item in meal preparation was child's favorite(58.1%). Mother's response to child's unbalanced diet was ‘trying to persuade the child’(56.6%). It was significant according to mother's occupation(P<0.01). The nutritional management program at child care center is required to enhance the nutritional status of children. Also the nutritional education for the children and their meal planners is required for better growth and health promotion of preschool children.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.440-453
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• 1998

This study was done to provide basic information for nutrition education and meal planning by analyzing children's food preference. For this purpose, 938 children from eleven elementary schools under meal service were randomly selected in Taejon. The survey was conducted by questionnaires, and data were analyzed by SAS program. Children prefered ssalbap to japkogbap and liked kimbap the best among one dish foods. But their most favorite foods were chajangmyun in noodles, miyeokkuk in soups, and chamchichigae in pot stew. Sixth graders like kimchichigae more than third graders. In the case of chims, children like duejigalbichim, sogalbichim, and dalgyalchim. In the jorim, they prefered duejigogi jangjorim, mechurial jangjorim to any other jorims. The preference of bockum, namul, jangachi, and jotgal is generally low. Children's preference is high in fruit, drink, fried food, one dish food and is low in jangachi, namul, bockum. These results suggest that the preference of foods should be fully taken into consideration in school meal service so that they can eat foods with pleasure. Foods, which are low in preference due to the cooking method, should be prepared with new cooking methods developed specifically for children. 'Even though the preference of food is low to the children, the nutritious foods should be utilized in the school menu. Then, the importance of food intake must be taught to them through nutrition education.