Dietary Habits and Satisfaction of School Foodservice by High School Type in Chungnam Area

Abstract

This study was performed to investigate the dietary habits and satisfaction of school foodservice by high school type(academic high school students (AHSS) : n=200, vocational high school students (VHSS) : n=200). Frequency of skipping breakfast was significantly higher for VHSS compared with AHSS (p<0.001), and reasons for skipping breakfast were significantly high for ‘lack of time’ and ‘habitually’ in VHSS (p<0.01). Duration of mealtime was significantly higher for AHSS compared with VHSS (p<0.001). Frequency of snacking was high in both AHSS and VHSS, and after dinner was the most common snack time for AHSS (p<0.001). Most commonly cited methods for improving dietary habits were ‘frequently skipping meals’ in AHSS and ‘irregular meals’ in VHSS. Reasons for leaving leftover foods were ‘no taste’ in AHSS and ‘side dish I dont like’ in VHSS (p<0.05). Satisfaction of school foodservice was significantly higher for AHSS compared with VHSS (p<0.05). Most commonly cited methods for improving school foodservice were ‘varied menu’ in AHSS and ‘food taste’ in VHSS (p<0.05). Commonly cited dietary motivations were ‘preference’ in AHSS and ‘resolving starvation’ in VHSS (p<0.001). As preference is an important factor, new menu development and continuous nutritional education should be necessary for menu diversity in order to raise satisfaction by using foods with high preference and superior nutrition.