児童から大学生にいたる若年者層のファーストフードの利用実態調査

Abstract

A survey was conducted on the use of fast foods among young people from schoolchildren to university students and its effect on diet was evaluated.Thirty-two percent of the subjects reported eating fast foods once or more per week (group A), while the other subjects reported twice or less per month (group B). Among the reasons quoted for the use of fast foods, “cheap price” and “good taste” accounted for about 40% and then “convenience”. Schoolchildren quoted “cheap price” as the biggest reason and then “pleasure”. The subjects tended to eat hamburger, French fries and fried chicken for lunch and snacks, doughnuts, hot dogs and takoyaki for snacks, pizza for dinner, and okonomiyaki, noodles and rice dishes for lunch and dinner. Hamburger, French fries and fried chicken tended to be eaten at a restaurant, pizza and okonomiyaki at home, doughnuts, hot dogs, noodles and rice dishes at a restaurant and at home, and takoyaki at home and at outdoor stands. Schoolchildren and junior high school children tended to eat fast foods with their family, while university students and high school students tended to eat fast foods, except for pizza and okonomiyaki, with their friends.Almost all the subjects were satisfied with the taste of fast foods, although many complained about the quantity of fried chicken and abou the price of pizza and fried chicken. Group A subjects more often skipped breakfast than group B subjects, and group B subjects more often ate breakfast and dinner with their family (p<0.01). Some differences in health-related behavior were found between groups A and B, with group A subjects tending to have worse health conditions. The percentages of those who ate balanced meals consisting of a staple food, main dish and side dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner were 3.7%, 18.9 % and 25.8%, respectively. These percentages were higher for group B than for group A (p<0.01). The ercentages of those who had no balanced meal each day were 71.3% for group A and 59.3% for group B (p<0.001).