Nutrition fact labels (NFLs) are a simple way to help people improve their nutritional intake by making healthier food choices. This study aimed to evaluate NFL use and eating habit changes among quarantined and hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients during the pandemic. This cross-sectional study used data from the 2019 and 2020 Korean Community Health Surveys (KCHSs). Data were collected from 229,099 subjects in 2019 and 229,269 subjects in 2020. In the 2020 KCHS, data from 1,073 COVID-19 patients were included. NFL use was divided into 4 categories based on a questionnaire: affect, read, aware, and never heard. Among COVID-19 patients, 32.15% reported that they had not heard of NFLs (never heard group) compared to 44.36% of the healthy population (p < 0.001). A total of 35.1% of COVID-19 patients who reported daily life change scores of 20 or less were in the affect group compared to 23.8% of healthy subjects. In the affect group, the proportion of respondents who reported increased consumption of delivered food was 38.7% in the COVID-19 group, which was 17.1% higher than that in the never heard group (Cramér’s V = 0.257; p < 0.001). Respondents with increased consumption of fast food/soda showed a higher ratio of having never heard of NFLs among healthy subjects (28.5%) than among COVID-19 patients (22.5%; p = 0.043). Confirmed COVID-19 infections and more unfavorable daily life changes due to COVID-19 led to increased nutritional information seeking and NFL use.
This study investigated the dietary habits and food preferences of elementary school students. The survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire distributed to 4th and 5th grade elementary school students (400 boys and 400 girls) in urban and suburban areas of Daejeon. The results of this study were as follows: male students in urban areas ate breakfast, unbalanced diets, and dairy products more frequently than male students in suburban areas (p < 0.05). Female students in urban areas ate dairy products (p < 0.01) and fruits (p < 0.001) more frequently than female students in suburban areas. Students had the high preferences for boiled rice and noodles with black bean sauce, beef rib soup, steamed beef rib, steamed egg, beef boiled in soy sauce, egg roll, bulgogi, pork cutlet, deep-fried pork covered with sweet and sour starchy sauce, and honeyed juice mixed with fruit as a punch. All students preferred kimchi, although students in the suburban areas preferred kimchi-fried rice (p < 0.05), and those in the urban areas preferred bean-paste soup (p < 0.01). Students in suburban areas showed a greater preference for seasoned bean sprouts and Altari kimchi. All of the students preferred fruits, rice cake made with glutinous rice, and pizza among other foods. Overall, there were distinct differences in the eating habits and food preferences of elementary school students according to the place of residence.
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