Nutr Res Pract.  2023 Jun;17(3):553-564. 10.4162/nrp.2023.17.3.553.

Association between diet quality and type of meal companion: the 2013–2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES)

• Yoon YS
• Oh SW

• KMID: 2542850
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2023.17.3.553

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES
A meal companion is an important social determinant of eating behaviors and is related to what and how much a person will eat within the social context. This study examined the difference in diet quality according to the type of dining companion.
SUBJECTS/METHODS
This study included 15,074 adults (6,180 men and 8,894 women, ≥ 19 years) who participated in the 6th (2013–2015) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Korean Healthy Eating Index (KHEI) scores were calculated using the food frequency questionnaire data. Survey multivariate linear regression analysis was used to assess the association of dining companions (ordinary type, eating with family members, eating alone, and eating with others) and the total and component scores of KHEI.
RESULTS
People who exclusively ate with someone other than family or exclusively ate alone had lower total KHEI scores in both men (57.23 ± 0.67, 58.56 ± 0.73 vs. 62.71 ± 0.26) and women (57.6 3±0.97, 63.89±0.58 vs. 65.79±0.22) compared to people with the ordinary type (all P < 0.05). Both men and women who ate exclusively with someone other than family had lower KHEI component scores for breakfast, whole grains, and fruit, excluding juice, compared to the ordinary type and family eating group. Compared to the eating alone group, the component scores for breakfast and whole grains were lower in the eating with others group.
CONCLUSION
The diet quality differed according to the meal companion type. People who always ate with someone other than family members and men who ate alone showed lower diet quality scores than the ordinary type. More research will be needed to improve their adherence to dietary recommendations.

Keyword

Diet; healthy eating; eating behavior; family members; companions

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Multivariate adjusted total scores of KHEI by the type of dining companion and sex.The models were adjusted for age, BMI, family income level, smoking status, daily alcohol intake, total weekly physical activity, total daily energy intake, spouse, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia. Higher scores indicate a better diet qualityKHEI, Korean Healthy Eating Index; BMI, body mass index.a-cDifferent superscripts are significantly different at the P-value < 0.05 by the Bonferroni-adjusted test.

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