A study on the eating habit and eating out behavior of the university students in the Gyeonggi area.

This study investigated difference of general eating habit and eating-out behavior between men and women of university students in Gyonggi area. The survey was conducted from 1 March to 1 April 2010, in Gyeonggi area. Self-administered questionnaires were collected from 250 students in Gyeonggi area. The research results show, first of all, that they eat twice a day, and they usually do not eat breakfast. The main reason why they do not eat breakfast is that they do not have enough time to eat. Between men and women, there is significant difference in eating amount and eating speed at 0.001 levels. Men`s problems of eating behavior are irregular meal time and speed of eating time, and in case of women, they do not have a meal regularly and overeat at one time. Second, they usually eat out for a meal and gather with friends once to three times a week. Also, the lunch set-menu promotion is the most preferred one. Third, when men choose a restaurant, they consider in order of taste, convenience, amount, and service; women consider in order of atmosphere, taste, convenience, and service. Taste is the most important for men; atmosphere is the most important consideration for women. Taste (at 0.01 levels), sanitation (at 0.05 levels), and atmosphere (at 0.001 levels) are significantly different between men and women in choosing restaurant. (Korean J Community Nutr 15(5): 687~693, 2010)