Dietary habits, lifestyle and physical condition of junior high school students

Abstract

Dietary habits, lifestyle and thirty subjective physical symptoms of all students at the first year level of junior high school were investigated by means of a specially designed questionnaire. After two years, the same questionnaire was again used on the same students who were now in their third year of junior high school. The students (305 boys and 319 girls totalling 624 students) who were included in both the first and the second surveys were used to analyze the relationship between physical conditions and lifestyle. The results were as follows: 1. The number of subjective symptoms increased significantly during the two years. 2. The students in their third year consumed less of a variety of foods than those in their first year. Dietary habits such as having a breakfast, lunch, or eating a meal with the family were worse at the third year level compared to the first year level. 3. In regard to lifestyle, recreational time or sleep time decreased while study time, dissatisfaction with life, or the rate of getting in or being in trouble increased during the two years surveyed. 4. Balance score and Dietary habits score decreased during the two years along with the increase in subjective symptoms. The survey suggests that better dietary habits and lifestyle are necessary in order to maintain good physical condition in junior high school students.