Eating Behavior, Nutrition knowledge, and Educational Needs of the Food and Nutrition of Elementary School Students in the Gyeungnam Province

This study was conducted to provide basic data for development of a dietary education textbook and guidebook by investigating and analyzing eating behavior, nutrition knowledge and educational needs in elementary school students. Most of the subjects were eating three meals a day (71.5%) and breakfast (75.3%). The percentage of students who consumed proper amount of meals (49.2%) was low. The percentage of students consuming salty food and fatty foods was 28.6% and 42.1%, respectively. The consumption of meat, fish, egg, bean and tofu was high, while the consumption of vegetables, fruits and seaweed was low. The percentage of students consuming processed food was high, but the percentage reading nutrition labels (34.9%) and hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) mark (26.9%) when buying processed foods was very low. Total scores of eating behavior and nutrition knowledge were significantly higher in female students than in male students (p < 0.05-p < 0.001). The desirable frequency of the education was once a week (60.5%). The most preferred educational method was ‘experiment and cooking practice’ (40.1%). The students wanted dietary information as ‘cooking’ (39.0%). As a result of this study, many problems were found in the eating behavior of students and nutritional knowledge was observed to be low as well. On the other hand, the demand for dietary education was very high. The findings of this study suggested the need for developing dietary education programs in order to encourage proper eating habits of students. (Korean J Community Nutr 18(1) : 11~24, 2013)