Nutr Res Pract.  2014 Aug;8(4):476-481.

Relationships of adolescent's dietary habits with personality traits and food neophobia according to family meal frequency

• Cho MS
• Kim M
• Cho W

Abstract

BACKGROUND
A higher frequency of family meals is associated with good dietary habits in young people. This study focused on the relationships of family meal frequency with food neophobia and personality traits in adolescents. SUBJECTS/METHOD: For this purpose, we administered a survey to 495 middle school students in Seoul metropolitan city, after which the data were analyzed using the SPSS (18.0) program. Pearson correlation was used to determine the relationships among dietary habits, personality traits, and food neophobia according to frequency of family meals.
RESULTS
Dietary habits, personality traits, and food neophobia all showed significant differences according to the frequency of family meals. Further, eating regular family meals was associated with good dietary habits (P < 0.001) and was linked with improved extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness/intellect (P < 0.001). On the other hand, it showed a negative relationship with food neophobia (P < 0.001). The relationship between dietary habits and food neophobia showed a negative correlation (P < 0.01). The relationship between dietary habits and personality traits showed a positive correlation (P < 0.01). Lastly, the relationship between personality traits and food neophobia showed a negative correlation (P < 0.01).
CONCLUSION
Based on the results of the study, the frequency of family meals affects dietary habits, personality traits, and food neophobia in adolescents.

Keyword

Family meals; dietary habits; personality traits; food neophobia

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Eating
Extraversion (Psychology)
Food Habits*
Hand
Humans
Meals*
Seoul