kjhp Korean Journal of Health Promotion Korean J Health Promot 2234-2141 2093-5676 The Korean Society of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention 10.15384/kjhp.2014.14.3.121 kjhp-14-121 Original Article Perceptions and Use of Premium Snacks and Associated Factors in School Aged Children and Their Mothers in Kyung-Ki Area YangHye-Young 1 LeeHyo-Suk 2 ChungJayong 2 Nutrition Education Major, Graduate School of Education, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea 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 01 2014 20 01 2014 14 3 121 130 17062014 30072014 Copyright © 2014 The Korean Society of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention 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.

 Snacks Children Mother References Koo JO Kim JH Byeon KW Son JM Lee JW Lee JH Nutrition throughout the life cycle: Chapter 6. Childhood nutrition Seoul Power Book 2011 2034 Lee KW Lee HS Lee MJ A study on the eating behaviors of self-purchasing snack among elementary school students Korean J Food Culture 200520 5 594602 Gim YA Effects of Nutrition Education on Snack Intake of Middle Schooler: with Educated Group and Non-Educated Group [dissertation] Jeonju Chonbuk National University of Education 2008 Korean Kang SA Lee JW Kim KE Koo JO Park DY A study of the frequency of food purchase for snacking and its related ecological factors on elementary school children Korean J Community Nutr 20049 4 45363 Kim MJ The effect of eating habit, life behavior and body image of higher grade elementary school children and parents in child obesity degree Korean J Physical Growth and Motor Development 201321 3 22735 Hong JH Oh SG Chung JY Relationship of unbalanced diet and eating behavior between school age children and their mothers in Wonju area Korean J Health Promot 201414 1 1725 Her ES Interrelations among snack preference, purchasing behaviors and intake in upper grade elementary school students: compared by the gender and TV watching time Korean J Community Nutr 201318 5 42941 Kim HY Won BY Ryu SH A study on the intake of foods causing dental caries and the effect of nutrition education for primary students Korean J Soc Food Cookery Sci 200218 6 70415 Lee SS A study on dietary behavior of children according to the Their Preferences for Fast Food Korean J Community Nutr 20049 2 20413 Lee ES Kim DJ An Exploratory study on the price acceptance of premium confectionery J Korean Food Service 20128 1 729 Kim JS Shin SN Park HR Sung SH Kim JH Lee JS Premium brand of Orion Confectionery Business Education Journal 201122 5571 Myung KS Lee ME A study on the cognitive psychology consumer research and purchase of the premium package design A Journal of Brand Design Association of Korea 20097 12 8191 Choi HS Consumer research press release vol 32. Consumer Research. 2013. [Accessed June 10, 2014]. http://www.con-sumerresearch.co.kr/news/article.html?no=1667 Cho EA Lee SK Heo GJ Snack consumption behaviors and nutrition knowledge among elementary school students in Siheung-si Korean J Community Nutr 201015 2 16979 Jo JI Kim HK Food habits and eating snack behaviors middle school students in Ulsan area Korean J Nutr 200841 8 797808 Kim YS Kim BR Intake of snacks, and perceptions and use of food and nutrition labels by middle school students in Chuncheon area J Korean Soc Food Sci Nutr 201241 9 126573 Lee ES Kim DJ An exploratory study on the price acceptance of premium confectionery J Korean Food Service 20128 1 729 Ministry of Health and Welfare & Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention National health and nutrition examination survey report Seoul;2009. Jeong NY Kim KW Nutrition knowledge and eating behaviors of elementary school children in Seoul Korean J Community Nutr 200914 1 5566 Lee JH Woo JH Chae HJ Lee EH Chyun JH Study of dietary behaviors and snack intake patterns by weight of middle school students in Incheon Korean J Food Culture 201025 4 36677 Kim MH Seo JS Choi MK Kim EY A study on dietary habit and eating snack behaviors of middle school students with different obesity indexes in Chungam area Korean J Food & Nutr 201225 1 10515 Kim GR Kim MJ Differences in snacking behavior and general characteristics of high school students in some areas in Seoul and Kyonggido Korean J Culinary Res 201319 2 1127 Lee JS Choi YS Bae BS Association between nutritional knowledge and dietary behaviors of middle school children and their mothers Korean J Nutr 201144 2 14051 Doo MA Seo JY Kim YH Factors to influence consumption pattern of snacks of middle school students in Ilsan area J Korean Soc Food Sci Nutr 200938 12 17329 Choi MJ Lee GD Kim HN A food selection of preschool children and their mother's perception of dietary management J Child Education 201019 1 293306 Han GS Cho WK Study of dietary behaviors and snack intake patterns of high school students in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi-do Korean J Food Culture 201126 5 490500 Kim NY Lee JS A study on perception and utilization of food-nutrition labeling by in Busan residents J Korean Soc Food Sci Nutr 200938 12 180110 Son SH Kim KN Relationship between dietary habits & snack consumption and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among elementary school children in Cheongju Area J Human Ecology 201115 2 5967 Cheong HS Choi AK A study on the dietary status of the elementary school students in Ulsan J Basic Sciences 201128 521 Tables

General characteristics of the study subjectsa

Variables Boy (n=337) Girl (n=292) Total (n=629) χ2 (P)b
N (%) N (%) N (%)
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)  

Some variables have different total numbers due to missing values.

Calculated by chi-square test.

Characteristics of premium snack purchasing patterns in children and their mothersa

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
N (%) N (%) N (%) N (%) 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)    

Some variables have different total numbers due to missing values.

Calculated by chi-square test.

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

Variables Boy Girl Total
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±0.78b 2.87 (0.023) 26 0.20±0.59 1.27 (0.280) 53 0.30±0.69b 2.62 (0.034)
 2 times/d 76 0.14±0.43c   69 0.21±0.59   145 0.17±0.51c  
 1 time/d 113 0.12±0.30c   106 0.09±0.20   219 0.11±0.26c  
 1–3 times/wk 75 0.16±0.35c   59 0.10±0.21   134 0.13±0.30c  
 Rare 46 0.12±0.27c   32 0.19±0.55   78 0.15±0.41c  
Money spent on general snacks, Korean Won/d
 <500 97 0.15±0.37 2.29 (0.059) 70 0.11±0.39c 3.40 (0.010) 167 0.14±0.38c 5.21 (<0.001)
 500–1000 161 0.14±0.36   151 0.14±0.40c   312 0.14±0.38c  
 1100–1500 41 0.12±0.36   43 0.13±0.33c   84 0.13±0.34c  
 1600–2000 16 0.10±0.25   19 0.04±0.08c   35 0.07±0.18c  
 >2000 22 0.40±0.76   9 0.61±0.96b   31 0.46±0.81b  
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  
Totald 337 0.16±0.40   292 0.14±0.40   629 0.15±0.41 –0.80 (0.423)

Calculated by oneway analysis of variance.

cSignificantly different by Duncan's multiple range test.

Some variables have different total numbers due to missing values.

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)
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±0.64b 3.09 (0.047) 99 0.20±0.52b 3.28 (0.038)
 1 time/d 120 0.16±0.42   115 0.15±0.40bc   235 0.16±0.41bc  
 ≤3 times/wk 101 0.11±0.24   100 0.07±0.16c   201 0.09±0.21c  
Frequency of purchasing premium snacks
 ≥1 time/d 5 0.44±0.88 1.31 (0.272) 6 0.78±1.15bc 6.25 (<0.001) 11 0.63±1.00b 6.57 (<0.001)
 3–6 times/wk 11 0.19±0.31   6 0.28±0.31c   17 0.22±0.31c  
 1–2 times/wk 39 0.12±0.24   36 0.27±0.69c   75 0.19±0.51c  
 Rare 217 0.14±0.36   211 0.11±0.32c   428 0.12±0.34c  

Calculated by oneway analysis of variance.

Significantly different by Duncan's multiple range test.

Some variables have different total numbers due to missing values.

Perceptions on premium snacks in children and their mothersa

    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)
  Totald 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)

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

Calculated by paired t-test.

Calculated by t-test.

Sum of the perception scores from all eight questions.

Correlations between perceptions on premium snacks in mothers and the frequency of eating premium snacks in childrena

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

Pearson'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).

P<0.05.

P<0.01.

Sum of the perception scores from all eight questions.

P<0.001.