Health-related lifestyles, nutritional attitudes and practices, and sleep quality of the Korean and Chinese female college students in Incheon area

초록

The purpose of this study was to compare health-related lifestyles, nutritional attitudes and practices, and sleep quality between the Korean and Chinese female college students in Incheon, Korea. The anthropometric characteristics of 67 Korean students and 68 Chinese students were measured and information about health-related lifestyles, nutritional attitudes and practices, and sleep quality were collected through self-reported questionnaires in May 2008. The result has shown that the body weight, percent body fat, and body mass index (BMI) were not significantly different between the students of the two countries. The percentage of the Chinese students in the overweight or obesity category was 23.5%; however, 51.5% of the Chinese students thought of themselves as overweight. Fifty-six point seven percent of the Korean students and 91.2% of the Chinese students had concerns about their health (P < 0.001). Compared to the Korean students, the lower percentage of the Chinese students were willing to eat breakfast every day (Korean students, 97.0%; Chinese students, 82.4%; P < 0.01). Regarding the consumption of vegetables and fruits, 39.7% of the Chinese students ate less than 4 times per week, which was significantly higher than that of the Korean students (19.4%). Seventy-six point five percent of the Chinese students ate fried foods more than 1 time per day, which was significantly higher compared to the Korean students (55.2%). The Chinese students were significantly better in sleep duration but poorer in habitual sleep efficiency compared to the Korean students. Most of the Korean and Chinese students were “neither types” or “evening types”. Therefore, appropriate nutrition education is needed for the Chinese female students studying in Korea about body image disturbance, eating breakfast, vegetables and fruits intake, and sleep quality.