[A measure of the motives underlying snack selection among Japanese junior high school students: the Snack Choice Questionnaire (SCQ)].

PURPOSE

To develop a measure of the motives underlying snack selection by Japanese junior high school students and to examine the characteristics of each motivating factor.

METHODS

Self-reported questionnaires were distributed in a cross-sectional study of 1,936 students in public junior high schools in Tokyo, Japan. The respondents answered the Snack Choice Questionnaire (SCQ) and the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), which assess overeating, snacking behavior, the food environment, lifestyle, and demographics.

RESULTS

Twenty-two items of the SCQ were factor-analyzed using varimax rotation. Three factors were extracted and labeled "fashion and sales promotion," "convenience and taste," "health and weight control." All factors demonstrated a satisfactory Cronbach's alpha coefficient of over 0.80, and scores for both "fashion and sales promotion" (r= 0.349, P<0.001) and "convenience and taste" (r= 0.418, P<0.001) showed positive correlations with DEBQ scores. On the other hand, scores for "health and weight control" (r= 0.014, ns) were not statistically significant. Furthermore, the students who reported buying or eating snack foods frequently had high scores for "fashion and sales promotion" and "convenience and taste" but not for "health and weight control." The factor "fashion and sales promotion" was related to more TV viewing (beta = 0.060, P< 0.05), while the factor "convenience and taste" was related to the availability of convenience stores near a student's home (beta=0.109, P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this first study of the motives underlying snack food selection in junior high-schools in Japan suggest a need for comprehensive nutrition education, along with a focus on media literacy and consumer education.