2007 Volume 3 Pages 15-21
The objective of this study was to clarify the effect of dietary habits on unidentified complaints. A questionnaire survey was carried out in 2004 and the subjects were 901 children including 458 males and 443 females, from the 3rd grade to the 6th grade at two elementary schools. A chi-square test was applied to test the correlation between lifestyle and unidentified complaints. Then, cumulative logistic regression analysis was applied and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. The results showed that lifestyle correlated with unidentified complaints significantly. Furthermore, disordered lifestyles showed higher odds ratios for unidentified complaints. Especially, compared with children who had breakfast everyday, odds ratio was 2.9 for males who seldom had breakfast, 4.2 for females. In addition, the frequency of defecation correlated not only with unidentified complaints, but also with the habit of having breakfast. Therefore, we concluded that dietary habits are an imported part of the lifestyle of children and it is possible to reduce unidentified complaints through modifying disordered dietary habits.
