Association between Stress and Nutritional status of High School Students in Chungbuk using Nutrition Quotient for Korean Adolescents

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between stress levels and eating habits in adolescents. Methods: A total of 453 male and female high school students were surveyed to ascertain their stress levels, Nutrition Quotients for Korean Adolescents (NQ-A), and stress-related eating behavior. Results: The average age of the subjects was 18 and they were mostly from nuclear families. Their average daily conversation time with their parents was between 10 to 30 minutes. The average sleep time for female students was observed to be less than that of male students. The satisfaction level of academic achievement of female students was significantly lower than that of the male students ( P < 0.001). The average stress level score for female students was 2.7 out of 5, which was significantly higher than the male student's score of 2.4 ( P < 0.001). The eating speed of male students was related to stress levels. Both male and female students ate more and craved spicy food when under stress. All male and female students had significantly ascending NQ-A scores rising in the order of stress from ‘low level’ to ‘medium level’, to ‘high level’ ( P < 0.001). There was a significant negative correlation between the stress score and the NQ-A score adjusted for general characteristics (r = -0.29, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Since stress and NQ-A were negatively correlated in high school students, higher stress levels can be associated with irregular eating habits and negative eating behavior. Therefore, stress management and nutrition education focusing on stress status are needed for adolescents.