Consumption of health functional food and dietary habits, nutrient intake and dietary quality of college students in Incheon

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate consumption of health functional food (HFF) and dietary habits, nutrient intake, and dietary quality by HFF consumption in college students. The subjects of this study included 283 college students (179 males and 104 females) in Incheon metropolitan city. The cross-sectional study was conducted using self-reported questionnaires, including kinds of HFF consumed, motivation for purchase, reason for consumption, effect after consumption, reason for no consumption, and dietary habits. A three-day recall method was used for dietary assessment. Dietary qualities were assessed using nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR), mean adequacy ratio (MAR), and nutrient density (ND) values. The percentage of HFF consumption was 40.2% in males and 50.0% in females. The main kinds of HFF consumed by males were vitamins and minerals, red ginseng, protein, and omega-3 fatty acid, in that order. HFF consumed by females were vitamins and minerals, red ginseng, omega-3 fatty acid, and individually approved functional ingredients, in that order. The main motivation for purchase of HFF was recommendation of family and relatives (males 76.4% and females 78.8%). The main reason for consumption of HFF was health promotion (males 67.7% and females 63.5%) and the main reason for no consumption of HFF was not having a health problem (males 49.5% and females 46.2%). The dietary habit score for ?eat the milk or dairy product everyday’ (p ＜ 0.05) in females was significantly higher in HFF consumers, compared to HFF non-consumers. In males, the ND of vitamin B1 (p ＜ 0.05) in HFF consumers was significantly higher compared to HFF non-consumers. In females, HFF consumers showed a significantly higher ND of vitamin B2 (p ＜ 0.05) and Ca (p ＜ 0.01), compared to HFF non-consumers. Regardless of HFF consumption, the NAR of vitamin C, folic acid, and Ca was less than 0.7. These results suggest the need for nutrition education for college students in order to improve dietary habits and for balanced nutritional status, and to provide correct information on HFF. (Korean J Nutr 2013; 46(2): 166 ~ 176)