Differences in Self-Assessment Regarding Eating Behaviors among Female University Students Living in Japan, Korea, and Austria

Mihoko Tominaga, Masanori Taguchi, Akiko Suzuki, Yoshiko Ikawa, Ho-Sook Youn, Kyubok Cho, Johannes Scherling, Roswith Roth

Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Dokkyo University, Saitama, Japan.
Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan.
Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Graduate School of Education, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima.
Graduate School of Education, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan;.
Institute of English and American Studies, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Japanese Department, Cyber Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, Korea.
Korea Education & Research Information Service, Seoul, Korea.

DOI: 10.4236/fns.2012.312219                

Abstract

Objective: To investigate cross-cultural differences in self-assessments of eating behaviors of female university students who bear responsibility for their own eating behaviors and who will, in the future, likely determine a family’s eating style. Design: A cross-cultural comparison. Setting: Japan, South Korea, and Austria. Subjects: Female university students from Japan (n = 276), Korea (n = 103), and Austria (n = 127). The survey comprised a questionnaire containing ten sections about eating behaviors (eating habits, regular meal times, and frequency of food intake) and eating attitudes. Results: Eating behaviors and attitudes differed significantly among the three cultures. Japanese students practiced healthier eating behaviors than did Korean and Austrian students, on the basis of their variety of food intake and regular consumption of three meals, but rated themselves lower on healthy eating behaviors. Austrian students tended to have more independent attitudes toward eating and food preparation (e.g., “I want to eat only my favorite dishes”) than Japanese or Korean students. Conclusions: Effects of cultural differences in psychological processes, such as self-cognition, emotion, motivation, and values, on self-assessment of eating behaviors is suggested.

Keywords

Differences in Self-Assessment Regarding Eating Behaviors among Female University Students Living in Japan, Korea, and Austria

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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