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(2)Concerns about Children's Eating Behaviors

80.3% respondents said they were "concerned" about children's eating behaviors.

The proportion of children who "skip breakfast sometimes" was higher with children without elder siblings, and/or those who go to bed late.

80.3% respondents said they were "concerned" about children's eating behaviors. More boys than girls were reported to have "many likes and dislikes," "do not bite well," and/or "do not sit still when eating (for example, play while eating)." As for the composition of siblings, the rate of "concerned" respondents was lower with children with "elder sibling(s) only" or with "both elder and younger siblings."

While the general rate of children who "skip breakfast sometimes" stood at 12.7%, the percentage dropped below 10% for children with "elder sibling(s) only" or with "both elder and younger siblings," and who have gone to bed "before 9:00 pm since the 2nd survey" or "in the 9:00 pm range since the 2nd survey," in comparison to the higher rate of children who "skip breakfast sometimes" with the "only child" or "younger sibling(s) only," and/or those who have gone to bed "after 10:00 pm since the 2nd survey" (Table 10).

Table 10  Concerns about children's eating behaviors,
in relation with their sex, sibling composition, and bedtimes (multiple answers)
(Unit: %)
   Total Concerned Concerns about children's eating behaviors (multiple answers) No
particular
concerns
Eat very
little		 Eat too
much or
very little
at times		 Have many
likes and
dislikes		 Do not bite
well		 Do not sit
still when
eating (for
example,
play while
eating)		 Skip
breakfast
sometimes		 Others
Total 100.0 80.3 13.3 43.7 27.4 12.3 44.0 12.7 7.1 19.4
Sex                              
  Boy 100.0 81.7 12.7 44.0 29.4 14.4 46.9 12.3 6.9 18.1
  Girl 100.0 78.8 14.0 43.4 25.2 9.9 40.8 13.2 7.5 20.9
Sibling composition                              
  Only child 100.0 84.1 15.1 45.0 28.7 14.5 50.1 17.1 7.4 15.6
  Younger sibling(s) only 100.0 84.7 18.1 47.0 29.9 11.9 46.8 15.7 8.6 15.0
  Elder sibling(s) only 100.0 76.4 10.1 41.4 25.6 11.3 40.0 9.1 6.2 23.3
  Both elder and younger siblings 100.0 76.5 11.1 42.1 24.3 11.9 38.5 9.7 7.3 23.3
Bedtime                              
  Before 9:00 pm since 2nd survey 100.0 69.0 7.9 34.2 23.3 12.0 30.7 4.1 7.1 30.8
  9:00 - 9:59 since 2nd survey 100.0 77.3 10.9 41.0 24.1 12.5 40.8 7.5 7.1 22.5
  After 10:00 pm since 2nd survey 100.0 85.2 16.1 46.5 30.0 12.1 50.4 19.5 6.9 14.6
Notes:1)The figures for total, sex, and sibling composition are based on the responses to the 4th survey (total replies: 41,557), and the bedtimes are based on the responses to the 2nd through 4th surveys (total replies: 39,838).
2)The total includes the number of samples with "unknown" for each item.


   The rates of children who "eat very little," "have many likes and dislikes," and/or "skip breakfast sometimes" increased from the previous survey.

Comparing the concerns about children's eating behaviors with the data from the 3rd survey, fewer respondents were concerned in the 4th survey about "eat too much or very little at times," "do not bite well," or "do not sit still when eating (for example, play while eating)," while more were concerned about the children who "eat very little," "have many likes and dislikes," and/or "skip breakfast sometimes" (Figure 7).

Figure 7  Changes in the concerns about children's eating behaviors (multiple answers)

figure
Note: The figures are based on the total responses to the 3rd and 4th surveys (total replies: 40,616).

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