Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-1982

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Food Science and Technology

Major Professor

Jean D. Skinner

Committee Members

Majorie Penfield, Frances Andrews

Abstract

Adolescents' evening meal patterns and the effects of the following factors on adolescents' eating behavior were investigated: gender, region (metropolitan or rural), mothers' employment, who prepared the evening meal, teens' employment, nutrition attitudes, and nutrition knowledge. A sample of 229 adolescents 16-18 years of age from four metropolitan and three rural high schools in East Tennessee completed 24-hour food records, written questionnaires, and nutrition attitude/knowledge tests in spring 1980. Additional data were collected from nine high schools in the Knoxville area in spring 1981. A paired sample of 74 adolescents working on the day of the survey and 74 nonworking adolescents was used to investigate the factor, teens' employment. Students were paired on the basis of gender, race, age, and school. Food records were evaluated for energy and nutrient content for the total day and the evening meal. Nutrient intakes per 1000 kcal and dietary scores based on the RDA and the RDA per 1000 kcal were computed as measures of quality.

Adolescents' diets for the total day in spring 1980 were frequently below 2/3 of the RDA for calcium, iron, vitamin A, and ascorbic acid. Males consumed greater amounts of all nutrients than did females. The quality of females' diets was lower than those of males for calcium, riboflavin, and protein. Region and mothers' employment did not affect the overall quality of diets for the day. However, adolescents with employed mothers tended to have higher ascorbic acid intakes and had lower iron intakes per 1000 kcal than did those whose mothers were not employed. A positive relationship was found between nutrition attitude scores and the total dietary score per 1000 kcal on the survey day. Nutrition knowledge scores were not related to dietary scores.

Adolescents' evening meals on the survey day in spring 1980 included an animal protein food, such as meat or cheese, in 84% of meals, and a starchy food, such as potatoes or bread, was found in 91%. Only 30% included milk and 34% vegetables. Tea and soft drinks were found in 54% and desserts or snack foods in 16%. Evening meals were low in calcium, iron, vitamin A, and ascorbic acid when compared to the standard, 1/3 of the RDA. In addition, half did not meet 1/3 of the RDA for energy. Most (82%) ate the evening meal at home; 15% ate at a restaurant; 6% skipped. Although mothers prepared 53% of the meals, 23% of the adolescents prepared their own. Selfprepared evening meals were significantly lower in quality with less iron, thiamin, and niacin than meals prepared by mothers. Males consumed greater amounts of nutrients at the evening meal and ate more snacks during the late afternoon and evening than did females. Rural adolescents' evening meals were lower in quality for niacin than were meals of metropolitan adolescents. Metropolitan adolescents tended to omit vegetables and tended to eat the evening meal away from home more often than did rural adolescents. Adolescents with employed mothers had evening meals that tended to be higher in ascorbic acid than did those with nonemployed mothers. Evening meal patterns were not affected by mothers' work status.

In the paired sample, working adolescents' evening meals were lower in ascorbic acid than were the meals of the nonworking. Those who worked ate more sandwiches, more frequently included an animal protein source, and tended to include vegetables, other than potatoes, less often at the evening meal than did those who did not work. Working adolescents ate the evening meal less often at home. Only 3% of the nonworking adolescents skipped the evening meal compared to 11% of the working adolescents.

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