A Comparative Study on the Dietary Attitudes, Dietary Behaviors and Diet Qualities of Food and Nutrition Major and Non-major Female University Students

Cheong, Sun Hee; Kwon, Woojung; Chang, Kyung Ja

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare dietary attitudes, dietary behaviors and diet qualities of Food and Nutrition major and non-major female students at a university located in Inchon. The subjects included 74 female Food and Nutrition majors and 45 non-Food and Nutrition major female university students. This cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire, and the data were analyzed by a SPSS 10.0 program. The nutrient intake data collected from Three-day recalls were analyzed by the Computer Aided Nutritional Analysis Program and then the diet quality was estimated using the Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR), the Nutrient Adequacy Ratio (NAR) and the Index of Nutritional Quality (INQ). There was no significant difference in dietary behaviors between Food and Nutrition majors and non-majors. However, most of the female university students had poor eating habits, such as overeating, unbalanced meals, and skipping of meals. In particular, more than 50% of the female university students skipped breakfast. As for weighing themselves once a week, changing dietary lifestyles, calculating food calories and having interest in information on nutrition and health, the ratio of Food and Nutrition majors was significantly higher as compared to that of the non-majors. There was a significant difference in food consumption frequency except for milk and milk products, and iron-rich foods between the Food and Nutrition majors and non-majors. However, there was a significant difference in the frequency scores of iron-rich foods between the Food and Nutrition majors and non-majors. The MAR of Food and Nutrition majors and non-majors were 0.80 +/- 0.13, 0.79 +/-0.13, respectively. However, in the Food and Nutrition majors and non-majors, the NARs of calcium were 0.61 +/- 0.21 and 0.59 +/-0.20, and that of iron were 0.61 +/-0.21 and 0.59 +/-0.16, respectively, which was extremely low when compared to that of the other nutrients. This result was similar to that of the INQ. Therefore, nutritional education is necessary if female university students are to practice optimal nutrition, including well-balanced diets and eating foods of high nutritional quality.