Nutr Res Pract.  2024 Oct;18(5):687-700. 10.4162/nrp.2024.18.5.687.

Food-related media use and eating behavior in different food-related lifestyle groups of Korean adolescents in metropolitan areas

• Lee S
• Choi S
• Ahn SE
• Park YJ
• Hwang JY
• Yeo G
• Oh J

• KMID: 2560053
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2024.18.5.687

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES
This study investigated the relationship between adolescent food-related lifestyles and food-related media use and eating behavior in Korea.
SUBJECTS/METHODS
Participants were 392 Korean adolescents, ranging in age from 12 to 18, recruited via convenience sampling. They completed a self-report questionnaire survey consisting of questions about food-related lifestyle, food-related media use, food consumption behavior, food literacy, and nutrition quotient. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 29.0. (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA).
RESULTS
The factor analysis of food-related lifestyles identified four factors. Based on the cluster analysis results, participants were classified into three clusters reflecting different levels of interest: high interest in food, moderate interest in food, and low interest in food. The analysis revealed significant differences between groups in food-related liestyle factors (P < 0.05). Notably, the high-interest group demonstrated proactive engagement with food-related content, a willingness to explore diverse culinary experiences, and a conscientious consideration of nutritional labeling during food purchases. In contrast, the low-interest group reported tendencies toward overeating or succumbing to stimulating food consumption post-exposure to food-related content, coupled with a disregard for nutritional labeling when making food choices. A stronger inclination toward a food-related lifestyle was positively correlated with higher levels of food literacy and nutrition quotient.
CONCLUSION
This study proposes that the implementation of a nutrition education program using media could effectively promote a healthy diet among adolescents with a high level of interest in their dietary habits. For adolescents with low interest in their dietary habits, it suggests that introducing an education program with a primary focus on enhancing food literacy could be beneficial in fostering a healthy diet. Our research findings provide insight for the development of tailored nutritional education programs and establishment of effective nutrition policies.

Keyword

Adolescents; lifestyle; social media; consumption

Reference

1. Strand M, Gustafsson SA. Mukbang and disordered eating: a netnographic analysis of online eating broadcasts. Cult Med Psychiatry. 2020; 44:586–609. PMID: 32277331.

2. Kim H. A study on food porn as a sub-culture-Centering on internet “Meokbang” (eating scene) in Afreeca TV. Humanit Rep. 2015; 50:433–455.

3. Anjani L, Mok T, Tang A, Oehlberg L, Goh WB. Why do people watch others eat food? An empirical study on the motivations and practices of mukbang viewers. In : Proceedings of the 2020 CHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems; April 25-30, 2020; Honolulu, HI, USA. New York (NY): Association for Computing Machinery;2020. p. 1–13.

4. Kang E, Lee J, Kim KH, Yun YH. The popularity of eating broadcast: Content analysis of “mukbang” YouTube videos, media coverage, and the health impact of “mukbang” on public. Health Informatics J. 2020; 26:2237–2248. PMID: 31992111.

5. World Health Organization. Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic: Report of a WHO Consultation. 2000. p. 13–245.

6. World Obesity Federation. Economic impact of overweight and obesity to surpass $4 trillion by 2035 [Internet]. London: World Obesity Federation;2023. cited 2024 May 6. Available from: https://www.worldobesity.org/news/economic-impact-of-overweight-and-obesity-to-surpass-4-trillion-by-2035.

7. Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Press References; Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the prevalence of obesity among both adults and middle/high school students [Internet]. Cheongju: Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency;2023. cited 2024 May 6. Available from: https://www.kdca.go.kr/board/board.es?mid=a20501010000&bid=0015&act=view&list_no=722017.

8. Ministry of Health and Welfare. Comprehensive Plan for Obesity Prevention and Control (2018–2022). Sejong: Ministry of Health and Welfare;2018. p. 10.

9. Guo SS, Chumlea WC. Tracking of body mass index in children in relation to overweight in adulthood. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999; 70:145S–148S.

10. Sawyer SM, Azzopardi PS, Wickremarathne D, Patton GC. The age of adolescence. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2018; 2:223–228. PMID: 30169257.

11. Taymoori P, Berry TR, Lubans DR. Tracking of physical activity during middle school transition in Iranian adolescents. Health Educ J. 2012; 71:631–641.

12. Hamulka J, Wadolowska L, Hoffmann M, Kowalkowska J, Gutkowska K. Effect of an education program on nutrition knowledge, attitudes toward nutrition, diet quality, lifestyle, and body composition in Polish teenagers. The ABC of healthy eating project: design, protocol, and methodology. Nutrients. 2018; 10:1439. PMID: 30720795.

13. Daly AN, O’Sullivan EJ, Kearney JM. Considerations for health and food choice in adolescents. Proc Nutr Soc. 2022; 81:75–86. PMID: 35039094.

14. Park D, Park YK, Park CY, Choi MK, Shin MJ. Development of a comprehensive food literacy measurement tool integrating the food system and sustainability. Nutrients. 2020; 12:3300. PMID: 33126558.

15. Vaitkeviciute R, Ball LE, Harris N. The relationship between food literacy and dietary intake in adolescents: a systematic review. Public Health Nutr. 2015; 18:649–658. PMID: 24844778.

16. Palumbo R. Sustainability of well-being through literacy. The effects of food literacy on sustainability of well-being. Agric Agric Sci Procedia. 2016; 8:99–106.

17. Pendergast D, Dewhurst Y. Home economics and food literacy: an international investigation. Int J Home Econ. 2012; 5:245–263.

18. Kim KN, Hwang HJ, Lim YS, Hwang JY, Kwon S, Lee JS, Kim HY. Revision of Nutrition Quotient for Korean adolescents 2021 (NQ-A 2021). J Nutr. 2023; 56:247–263.

19. Jung Y, Min S, Lee M. Study on the dietary behavior of adolescents in multicultural families using the nutrition quotient and their changes in the nutrition knowledge and the dietary attitudes after nutrition education. J East Asian Soc Diet Life. 2020; 30:208–218.

20. Park H, Ryu H. The relationship between lifestyle and Nutrition Quotient in middle school students. Korean J Community Living Sci. 2021; 32:243–255.

21. World Health Organization. BMI-for-age (5–19 years). 2007. cited 2024 May 6. Available from: https://www.who.int/tools/growth-reference-data-for-5to19-years/indicators/bmi-for-age.

22. Yun S, Kang H, Lee H. Mukbang- and Cookbang-watching status and dietary life of university students who are not food and nutrition majors. Nutr Res Pract. 2020; 14:276–285. PMID: 32528634.

23. Kang H, Yun S, Lee H. Dietary life and mukbang-and cookbang-watching status of university students majoring in food and nutrition before and after COVID-19 outbreak. J Nutr Health. 2021; 54:104–115.

24. You SM, Ahn SE, Oh HI, Oh JE, Oh JE. Effect of food-related lifestyle on beverage selection attributes of adolescents. J Korean Soc Food Sci Nutr. 2018; 47:649–656.

25. Park D, Choi MK, Park YK, Park CY, Shin MJ. Higher food literacy scores are associated with healthier diet quality in children and adolescents: the development and validation of a two-dimensional food literacy measurement tool for children and adolescents. Nutr Res Pract. 2022; 16:272–283. PMID: 35392524.

26. So H, Park D, Choi MK, Kim YS, Shin MJ, Park YK. Development and validation of a food literacy assessment tool for community-dwelling elderly people. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021; 18:4979. PMID: 34067139.

27. Kaiser HF. A second generation little jiff. Psychometrika. 1970; 35:401–415.

28. Kaiser HF. The varimax criterion for analytic rotation in factor analysis. Psychometrika. 1958; 23:187–200.

29. Williams B, Onsman A, Brown T. Exploratory factor analysis: a five-step guide for novices. Australas J Paramed. 2010; 8:1–13.

30. Hendricks C, Murdaugh C, Pender N. The Adolescent Lifestyle Profile: development and psychometric characteristics. J Natl Black Nurses Assoc. 2006; 17:1–5.

31. Dodd LJ, Al-Nakeeb Y, Nevill A, Forshaw MJ. Lifestyle risk factors of students: a cluster analytical approach. Prev Med. 2010; 51:73–77. PMID: 20385163.

32. Bennasar-Veny M, Yañez AM, Pericas J, Ballester L, Fernandez-Dominguez JC, Tauler P, Aguilo A. Cluster analysis of health-related lifestyles in university students. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020; 17:1776. PMID: 32182922.

33. Villani S. Impact of media on children and adolescents: a 10-year review of the research. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2001; 40:392–401. PMID: 11314564.

34. Eftimov T, Popovski G, Petković M, Seljak BK, Kocev D. COVID-19 pandemic changes the food consumption patterns. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2020; 104:268–272. PMID: 32905099.

35. Faour-Klingbeil D, Osaili TM, Al-Nabulsi AA, Jemni M, Todd EC. An on-line survey of the behavioral changes in Lebanon, Jordan and Tunisia during the COVID-19 pandemic related to food shopping, food handling, and hygienic practices. Food Control. 2021; 125:107934. PMID: 33564215.

36. Filimonau V, Vi LH, Beer S, Ermolaev VA. The Covid-19 pandemic and food consumption at home and away: an exploratory study of English households. Socioecon Plann Sci. 2022; 82:101125. PMID: 35721386.

37. Güney OI, Sangün L. How COVID-19 affects individuals’ food consumption behaviour: a consumer survey on attitudes and habits in Turkey. Br Food J. 2021; 123:2307–2320.

38. Steils N, Obaidalahe Z. “Social food”: food literacy co-construction and distortion on social media. Food Policy. 2020; 95:101932.

39. Thomas H, Azevedo Perry E, Slack J, Samra HR, Manowiec E, Petermann L, Manafò E, Kirkpatrick SI. Complexities in conceptualizing and measuring food literacy. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2019; 119:563–573. PMID: 30670348.

40. Slater J, Falkenberg T, Rutherford J, Colatruglio S. Food literacy competencies: a conceptual framework for youth transitioning to adulthood. Int J Consum Stud. 2018; 42:547–556.

41. Kim Y, Yang HY, Kim AJ, Lim Y. Academic stress levels were positively associated with sweet food consumption among Korean high-school students. Nutrition. 2013; 29:213–218. PMID: 23237650.

42. Strasburger VC. Communications Co, Media. Children, Adolescents, Obesity, and the Media. Elk Grove Village (IL): American Academy of Pediatrics;2011. p. 201–208.