title: Academic stress levels were positively associated with sweet food consumption among Korean high-school students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objectives of the present study were to identify the association among levels of persistent academic stress, appetite, and dietary habits and to determine the specific types of sweet foods consumed by Korean high-school students according to their academic stress levels.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study participants included 333 high-school students in the 10th to 12th grades in Kyunggi Province, Korea. The level of academic stress was scored with a 75-item academic stress scale and was categorized as high, medium, or low. A food-frequency questionnaire was used to measure the sugar intake from sweet foods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Korean high-school students with a high academic stress level had larger meals than the other students. Compared with students with low academic stress, the students with high academic stress had a higher frequency of sugar intake from the following food types: confectionaries, candies and chocolates, breads, and flavored milk. Moreover, compared with students with low academic stress, the students with high academic stress had a higher total intake of sugar from the following food types: confectionaries, candies, chocolates, flavored milk, traditional Korean beverages, and spicy, sweet, and fried rice cakes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Unhealthy stress-related food choices may compromise high-school students' health and contribute to their morbidity. The findings of the present study could be used to help nutritionists develop effective strategies for nutritional education and counseling to improve adolescent health.
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Dietetics Program, School of Human Ecology, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana, USA.
authors.forename: Yeonsoo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hye Young
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Ae-Jung
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yunsook
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology; D004032:Diet; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D056910:Republic of Korea; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D019422:Dietary Sucrose