Relationship between breakfast frequency and school food waste among high school students in Daegu

The purposes of this study were to examine the influence of breakfast consumption frequency on school food waste and to compare its effect with food service satisfaction and food service management type. The subjects who participated in this study were composed of 978 first grade high school students from 30 high schools in Daegu. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis was carried out for the data analysis using SPSS 12.0 program. School food waste was estimated by visual evaluation method. The questionnaires containing breakfast eating frequency, food service satisfaction, and food service management type were surveyed. According to the results, school food waste was significantly affected by breakfast eating frequency. In contrast, food service satisfaction had a negative effect on school food waste, which was more significantly apparent in less frequent breakfast. Although the amount of lunch waste was influenced by food service satisfaction related with menu, it was not significantly affected by food service management type and food service satisfaction related with hygiene and service. In conclusion, the results indicate that eating breakfast is estimated as a characteristic strategy for improving efficiency of school food service by curtailing food waste. This study suggested that the importance of eating breakfast could be incorporated into the subjects of continuous nutritional education and the strategic planning for promoting efficiency of school food service.