Perceptions and Use of Premium Snacks and Associated Factors in School Aged Children and Their Mothers in Kyung-Ki Area

Hye-Young Yang; Hyo-Suk Lee; Jayong Chung

doi:10.15384/kjhp.2014.14.3.121

Korean J Health Promot > Volume 14(3); 2014 > Article

Yang, Lee, and Chung: Perceptions and Use of Premium Snacks and Associated Factors in School Aged Children and Their Mothers in Kyung-Ki Area

Original Article

Korean Journal of Health Promotion 2014;14(3):121-130.

Published online: January 20, 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15384/kjhp.2014.14.3.121

Perceptions and Use of Premium Snacks and Associated Factors in School Aged Children and Their Mothers in Kyung-Ki Area

¹Nutrition Education Major, Graduate School of Education, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea

²Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea

Hye-Young Yang¹, Hyo-Suk Lee², Jayong Chung^2,

Corresponding author：Jayong Chung, PhD Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Kyung Hee University, 26, Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-701, Korea
Tel: +82-2-961-0977, Fax: +82-2-961-0261 E-mail: jchung@khu.ac.kr

Received June 17, 2014 Accepted July 30, 2014

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Background

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions and use of premium snacks (PS) in school aged children. In addition, the influence of their mothers attitude toward the PS use on the children's PS eating behavior was examined.

Methods

337 boys and 292 girls and their mothers (n=535) were participated in this study. Participants were recruited from two elementary schools located in Kyung-ki area. Information on general characteristics, the frequencies of general snack eating and associated factors, and the frequencies of PS eating and associated factors were obtained by a self-administered questionnaire.

Results

The mean frequency of PS eating were 1.12 times/wk in boys and 0.98 times/wk in girls. The PS eating frequency was positively associated with the frequency of eating general snacks in boys and the money spent on purchasing general snacks in girls. The main reasons for eating PS were ‘health' followed by ‘taste'. The frequencies of general snack eating and those of PS use in mothers were highly associated with the frequencies of eating PS in children. Further, the perceptions on PS in mothers were significantly correlated with the frequencies of PS eating both in boys and in girls, although correlation coefficients were somewhat weak.

Conclusions

Our study showed that mother's snack eating behavior and perceptions can affect their children's PS uses. Our findings suggest that the education toward the mother's eating behavior and nutrition knowledge are important in improving child's eating behavior including reasonable and healthy snack choices.

Keywords: Snacks, Children, Mother

Table 1.

General characteristics of the study subjects^a

Variables	Boy (n=337)	Girl (n=292)	Total (n=629)	χ² (P)^b
Variables	N (%)	N (%)	N (%)	χ² (P)^b
Grade
5th	192 (57.0)	172 (58.9)	364 (57.9)	0.239 (0.625)
6th	145 (43.0)	120 (41.1)	265 (42.1)
Obesity
Underweight	113 (34.7)	132 (46.5)	245 (40.2)	15.872 (0.001)
Normal	137 (42.2)	113 (39.7)	250 (41.1)
Overweight	28 (8.6)	22 (7.8)	50 (8.2)
Obese	47 (14.5)	17 (6.0)	64 (10.5)
Number of siblings
0	28 (10.4)	24 (9.2)	52 (9.8)	0.398 (0.820)
1	181 (67.0)	174 (66.4)	355 (66.7)
≥2	61 (22.6)	64 (24.4)	125 (23.5)
Family income, 10,000 Korean Won/mon
<100	11 (4.1)	12 (4.6)	23 (4.4)	6.209 (0.184)
100–200	38 (14.2)	42 (16.3)	80 (15.2)
200–300	54 (20.2)	71 (27.4)	125 (23.7)
300–400	105 (39.2)	91 (35.1)	196 (37.2)
≥500	60 (22.3)	43 (16.6)	103 (19.5)
Mother's age
30–35	8 (3.0)	13 (5.0)	21 (4.0)	3.274 (0.351)
36–40	85 (31.5)	92 (35.1)	177 (33.3)
41–45	134 (49.5)	125 (47.7)	259 (48.6)
≥45	43 (16.0)	32 (12.2)	75 (14.1)
Mother's education
≤Middle/high school	164 (60.7)	153 (58.4)	317 (59.6)	0.303 (0.582)
≥College/university	106 (39.3)	109 (41.6)	215 (40.4)
Mother's employment
Full-time employed	124 (45.9)	131 (50.0)	255 (47.9)	3.543 (0.170)
Part-time employed	31 (11.5)	39 (14.9)	70 (13.2)
None	115 (42.6)	92 (35.1)	207 (38.9)

^aSome variables have different total numbers due to missing values.

^bCalculated by chi-square test.

Table 2.

Characteristics of premium snack purchasing patterns in children and their mothers^a

Variables	Boy (n=337)	Boy's mother (n=273)	χ² (P)^b	Girl (n=292)	Girl's mother (n=262)	r χ² (P)^b	Boy vs. girl
Variables	N (%)	N (%)	χ² (P)^b	N (%)	N (%)	r χ² (P)^b	χ² (P)^b
Frequency of purchasing premium snacks
≥1 time/d	24 (7.1)	5 (1.9)	10.988 (0.012)	12 (4.1)	6 (2.3)	8.136 (0.043)	4.204 (0.240)
3∼6 times/wk	19 (5.7)	11 (4.0)		14 (4.8)	6 (2.3)
1∼2 times/wk	52 (15.4)	39 (14.3)		57 (19.5)	36 (13.9)
Rare	242 (71.8)	217 (79.8)		209 (71.6)	212 (81.5)
Reasons for purchasing premium snacks (choose two)
Taste	141 (22.2)	37 (6.8)	118.367 (<0.001)	115 (20.5)	41 (7.8)	66.683 (<0.001)	10.699 (0.058)
Health	201 (31.5)	168 (30.6)		168 (29.9)	150 (28.6)
Nutrition	91 (14.3)	44 (8.1)		71 (12.7)	44 (8.4)
Ingredient	91 (14.3)	137 (25.1)		112 (19.9)	146 (27.9)
Food additives	41 (6.5)	110 (20.2)		48 (8.5)	102 (19.5)
Others	71 (11.2)	50 (9.2)		48 (8.5)	41 (7.8)
Reason for not purchasing premium snacks
Price	179 (55.4)	126 (46.3)	40.621 (<0.001)	170 (59.2)	136 (51.9)	14.746 (0.005)	1.924 (0.750)
Too much advertisement	42 (13.0)	79 (29.0)		34 (11.9)	53 (20.2)
Bad taste	56 (17.4)	15 (5.5)		42 (14.6)	22 (8.4)
Similar nutrient contents	22 (6.8)	23 (8.5)		16 (5.6)	24 (9.2)
Similar ingredients	24 (7.4)	29 (10.7)		25 (8.7)	27 (10.3)

^aSome variables have different total numbers due to missing values.

^bCalculated by chi-square test.

Table 3.

The frequency of eating premium snacks (times/day) and associated factors in boys and girls

Variables	Boy			Girl			Total
Variables	N	Mean±SD	F (P)^a	N	Mean±SD	F (P)^a	N	Mean±SD	F (P)^a
Frequency of eating general snacks
≥3 times/d	27	0.40±0.78^b	2.87 (0.023)	26	0.20±0.59	1.27 (0.280)	53	0.30±0.69^b	2.62 (0.034)
2 times/d	76	0.14±0.43^c		69	0.21±0.59		145	0.17±0.51^c
1 time/d	113	0.12±0.30^c		106	0.09±0.20		219	0.11±0.26^c
1–3 times/wk	75	0.16±0.35^c		59	0.10±0.21		134	0.13±0.30^c
Rare	46	0.12±0.27^c		32	0.19±0.55		78	0.15±0.41^c
Money spent on general snacks, Korean Won/d
<500	97	0.15±0.37	2.29 (0.059)	70	0.11±0.39^c	3.40 (0.010)	167	0.14±0.38^c	5.21 (<0.001)
500–1000	161	0.14±0.36		151	0.14±0.40^c		312	0.14±0.38^c
1100–1500	41	0.12±0.36		43	0.13±0.33^c		84	0.13±0.34^c
1600–2000	16	0.10±0.25		19	0.04±0.08^c		35	0.07±0.18^c
>2000	22	0.40±0.76		9	0.61±0.96^b		31	0.46±0.81^b
Ways of getting general snacks
Purchased by oneself	125	0.12±0.32	1.03 (0.359)	119	0.15±0.37	1.27 (0.282)	244	0.13±0.34	1.42 (0.242)
Purchased by parents	140	0.17±0.44		107	0.10±0.32		247	0.14±0.40
Prepared by parents	72	0.20±0.44		66	0.20±0.58		138	0.20±0.51
Person who eat snacks with
Alone	135	0.15±0.39	0.13 (0.878)	98	0.17±0.57	0.97 (0.379)	233	0.16±0.47	0.42 (0.657)
Friends	100	0.17±0.39		86	0.16±0.27		186	0.16±0.34
Family	101	0.16±0.43		108	0.10±0.33		209	0.13±0.38
Obesity
Underweight	113	0.18±0.47	1.21 (0.307)	132	0.11±0.23	1.16 (0.320)	245	0.14±0.36	1.02 (0.385)
Normal	137	0.14±0.30		111	0.20±0.60		248	0.16±0.46
Overweight	28	0.05±0.11		22	0.08±0.22		50	0.06±0.17
Obese	47	0.14±0.26		17	0.09±0.20		64	0.13±0.25
Total^d	337	0.16±0.40		292	0.14±0.40		629	0.15±0.41	–0.80 (0.423)

^aCalculated by oneway analysis of variance.

^bcSignificantly different by Duncan's multiple range test.

^aSome variables have different total numbers due to missing values.

Table 4.

Association between mother's characteristics and the frequency of eating premium snacks (times/day) in boys and girls

Mother's characteristics	Boy (n=273)			Girl (n=262)			Total (n=535)
Mother's characteristics	N	Mean±SD	F (P)^a	N	Mean±SD	F (P)^a	N	Mean±SD	F (P)^a
Age
30–35	8	0.28±0.70	0.85 (0.470)	13	0.12±0.22	2.02 (0.111)	21	0.18±0.46	0.43 (0.733)
36–40	85	0.14±0.29		91	0.13±0.37		177	0.13±0.33
41–45	134	0.16±0.40		125	0.12±0.36		259	0.14±0.39
≥45	43	0.08±0.22		33	0.32±0.75		75	0.19±0.53
Education
≤Middle school	3	0.07±0.12	0.06 (0.983)	6	0.23±0.39	2.28 (0.080)	9	0.18±0.32	1.40 (0.241)
High school	161	0.14±0.39		147	0.09±0.33		308	0.12±0.37
College/university	104	0.15±0.31		105	0.23±0.54		209	0.19±0.44
≥Graduate school	2	0.10±0.14		4	0.00±0.00		6	0.03±0.08
Employment
Full-time employed	124	0.14±0.33	1.14 (0.322)	131	0.14±0.42	0.16 (0.855)	255	0.14±0.38	0.23 (0.797)
Part-time employed	31	0.06±0.12		39	0.18±0.58		70	0.13±0.44
None	115	0.17±0.42		92	0.15±0.38		207	0.16±0.40
Frequency of eating general snacks
≥2 times/d	52	0.17±0.38	0.70 (0.497)	47	0.24±0.64^b	3.09 (0.047)	99	0.20±0.52^b	3.28 (0.038)
1 time/d	120	0.16±0.42		115	0.15±0.40^bc		235	0.16±0.41^bc
≤3 times/wk	101	0.11±0.24		100	0.07±0.16^c		201	0.09±0.21^c
Frequency of purchasing premium snacks
≥1 time/d	5	0.44±0.88	1.31 (0.272)	6	0.78±1.15^bc	6.25 (<0.001)	11	0.63±1.00^b	6.57 (<0.001)
3–6 times/wk	11	0.19±0.31		6	0.28±0.31^c		17	0.22±0.31^c
1–2 times/wk	39	0.12±0.24		36	0.27±0.69^c		75	0.19±0.51^c
Rare	217	0.14±0.36		211	0.11±0.32^c		428	0.12±0.34^c

^aCalculated by oneway analysis of variance.

^bSignificantly different by Duncan's multiple range test.

^dSome variables have different total numbers due to missing values.

Table 5.

Perceptions on premium snacks in children and their mothers^a

		Boy (n=273)			Girl (n=262)			Boy vs. Girl
No	Item	Boy	Boy's mother	t (P)^b	Girl	Girl's mother	t (P)^b	t (P)^c
1	I'm interested in purchasing premium snacks	2.90±1.18	3.14±1.08	–2.551 (0.011)	3.11±1.09	3.11±1.03	0.045 (0.964)	–2.17 (0.030)
2	I think premium snacks are healthier than general snacks	3.47±1.20	3.20±0.99	3.179 (0.002)	3.59±1.01	3.18±0.92	5.395 (<0.001)	–1.21 (0.229)
3	I trust the nutrients and ingredients of the premium snacks	3.24±1.16	2.86±0.93	4.703 (<0.001)	3.29±0.99	2.99±0.83	3.976 (<0.001)	–0.54 (0.590)
4	I think that the price of premium snacks are reasonable	2.49±1.06	2.26±0.84	2.931 (0.004)	2.47±0.81	2.35±0.86	1.619 (0.107)	0.26 (0.792)
5	I think premium snacks are delicious	3.18±1.13	2.80±0.82	5.088 (<0.001)	3.30±0.97	2.89±0.76	5.715 (<0.001)	–1.28 (0.201)
6	I think premium snacks contain less food additives	3.09±0.92	3.00±0.93	1.239 (0.216)	3.13±0.78	3.11±0.81	0.114 (0.910)	–0.46 (0.648)
7	I think premium snacks are safer than general snacks	3.34±1.07	3.00±0.87	4.289 (<0.001)	3.36±0.91	3.08±0.80	4.270 (<0.001)	–0.27 (0.787)
8	I prefer premium snacks to general snacks	2.55±1.20	2.54±0.95	0.130 (0.897)	2.56±1.04	2.66±0.98	–1.216 (0.225)	–0.08 (0.939)
	Total^d	24.26±6.70	22.80±5.83	3.127 (0.002)	24.80±5.58	23.37±5.26	3.437 (0.001)	–1.01 (0.312)

^aPerception scores (1: strongly disagree-5: strongly agree) are presented as means±SD.

^bCalculated by paired t-test.

^cCalculated by t-test.

^dSum of the perception scores from all eight questions.

Table 6.

Correlations between perceptions on premium snacks in mothers and the frequency of eating premium snacks in children^a

No.	Perceptions in mothers	Boy (n=273)	Girl (n=262)	Total (n=535)
1	I'm interested in purchasing premium snacks	0.071	0.128^b	0.099^b
2	I think premium snacks are healthier than general snacks	0.128^b	0.137^b	0.132^c
3	I trust the nutrients and ingredients of the premium snacks	0.188^c	0.085	0.139^c
4	I think that the price of premium snacks are reasonable	0.114	0.094	0.104^b
5	I think premium snacks are delicious	0.093	0.021	0.058
6	I think premium snacks contain less food additives	0.161^c	0.087	0.126^c
7	I think premium snacks are safer than general snacks	0.167^c	0.069	0.120^c
8	I prefer premium snacks to general snacks	0.113	0.171^c	0.141^c
	Total score^d	0.163^c	0.137^c	0.150^e

^aPearson's correlation coefficients (r) between the perception score for premium snacks in mothers (1: strongly disagree-5: strongly agree) and the frequency of eating premium snacks in children (times/day).

^bP<0.05.

^cP<0.01.

^dSum of the perception scores from all eight questions.

^eP<0.001.

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