Studies on Self-Perceived Health and Appearance, Health-Related Lifestyles and Dietary Behaviors of Korean College Students Attending Web Class

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate self-perception and practices of health and appearance, health-related lifestyles and dietary behaviors of college students(137 male, 115 female) attending web class via the Internet. This cross-sectional survey was conducted by a self-administered questionnaire and data was analyzed by SPSS program. The average height, weight and BMI of the male and female college students were 174.4cm, 67.8kg, 22.3kg/㎡ and 162.3cm, 52.1kg, 19.8kg/㎡, respectively. Male collage students perceived their health statuses significantly better compared to female students. As for self-evaluation of anemia, female college students perceived significantly more anemia symptoms compared to male college students. Female college students perceived their body image to be obese compared to male college students. Underweight college students perceived significantly less healthy statuses, more anemia symptoms, and worse hair conditions compared to other college students. The rate of male students who exercise was significantly higher compared to that of female students. Male students reported significantly more smoking and drinking of alcohol compared to female students. The rate of female college students skipping meals was significantly higher than that of male college students. Frequency of eating out in female college students was significantly higher compared to that in male students. These results may provide some basic information in developing a nutrition education program for Korean college students using Internet.

Keywords

• college students;
• appearance;
• health-related lifestyle;
• dietary behavior;
• Internet.