Association between watching eating shows and unhealthy food consumption in Korean adolescents

Min Jeong Joo; Dan Bi Kim; Jisu Ko; Jae Hyeok Lim; Eun-Cheol Park; Jaeyong Shin

doi:10.1186/s12937-024-00961-1

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Association between watching eating shows and unhealthy food consumption in Korean adolescents

Authors: Min Jeong Joo ; Dan Bi Kim ; Jisu Ko ; Jae Hyeok Lim ; Eun-Cheol Park ; Jaeyong Shin

Citation: NUTRITION JOURNAL, Vol.23(1) : 58, 2024-06

Journal Title: NUTRITION JOURNAL

Issue Date: 2024-06

MeSH: Adolescent ; Adolescent Behavior / psychology ; Diet / methods ; Diet / statistics & numerical data ; Fast Foods* / statistics & numerical data ; Feeding Behavior* / psychology ; Female ; Food Preferences / psychology ; Humans ; Male ; Republic of Korea ; Sugar-Sweetened Beverages / statistics & numerical data ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Television / statistics & numerical data

Keywords: Cookbang ; Eating show ; Fast food consumption ; High caffeinated beverages ; Mukbang ; South Korean adolescents ; Sugar-sweetened beverages ; Unhealthy eating habits

Abstract: Background: Eating habits formed during adolescence greatly influence the maintenance of health in adulthood. With the recent development of social media and easy access to the Internet, adolescents watch plenty of food videos, particularly Mukbang and Cookbnag(eating show)content. This media genre's impact on food choices has been covered in several studies; however, studies on unhealthy eating habits directly related to adolescents' exposure to eating shows are insufficient.

Methods: For this study, we used data from the 18th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted in 2022 and finalized 50,451 participants. The extent of exposure to eating show media over the course of a week, as well as the consumption of fast food, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and high caffeinated beverages within that week were measured through self-reporting questionnaires. We classified the participants into two groups based on their frequency of watching eating shows. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the association between eating show and unhealthy food consumption.

Results: For both males and females, eating show exposure was strongly associated with the consumption of fast food (male: OR:1.37, 95% CI:1.26-1.49; female: OR:1.46, 95% CI:1.36-1.57), SSB (male: OR:1.42, 95% CI:1.26-1.60; female: OR:1.51, 95% CI:1.35-1.70), and high caffeinated beverage (male: OR:1.30, 95% CI:1.23-1.37; female: OR:1.24, 95% CI:1.18-1.31). It was observed that both sexes were more likely to frequently eat unhealthy food than students who did not watch eating shows.

Conclusion: Among Korean adolescents, students exposed to eating shows, which primarily aim to entertain, were more likely to consume fast food, SSBs, and high caffeinated beverages. Therefore, this study's findings suggest that eating show could influence adolescents' food choices, highlighting the need for interest in emerging cultures and corresponding health policies.