Eating habits of local youth unhealthy compared to peers in Japan, China

SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) -- The eating habits of South Korean youth are less healthy and irregular compared to their peers in Japan and China, a survey conducted by a state-run think tank said Monday.

The Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI) said it conducted polls on 500 youth
living in South Korea and Japan, respectively, and 200 from China, and found only
50.0 percent of local youngsters eat breakfast. This is far lower than the 81.6
percent and 71.5 percent tallied for Japanese and Chinese youths.
The poll also said that of the respondents, 12 percent of South Korean youth said
they do not usually eat breakfast, versus 2.8 percent and 1.0 percent from
children living in Japan and China.
The failure to eat breakfast has frequently been cited by experts as having
detrimental effects on overall health, physical growth and learning.
The KREI report said the most common reason for skipping breakfast was lack of
time, with people whose families are wealthier less likely to miss their first
meal of the day.
The poll, in addition, said that 63.4 percent of Korean youth do not keep regular
dinner hours, compared to 25.2 percent for Japanese and 16.0 percent for Chinese
children.
In addition, more South Korean youth tend to eat dinner outside their homes, with
7.4 percent and 12.4 percent responding that they regularly eat dinner in
restaurants or private tutoring academies, respectively.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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