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6)   Concerns about children's eating behaviors and rules on giving snacks to children


79.9% respondents said they were "concerned" about children's eating behaviors. In general, 47.6% answered child "does not sit still when eating", 44.5% answered child "eats too much or very little at times". More specifically, there is a slight difference depending on the combination of caregivers. In the breakdown of children's obesity, respondents with "slightly underweight" children had concerns, particularly "eats very little". (Table 11, 12)

Table 11   Concerns about children's eating behaviors in the breakdown of the combination of caregivers (multiple answers)
(Unit: %)
  Total Concerned Not concerned in particular
  Eats very little Eats too much or very little at times Has many likes and dislikes Does not bite well Does not sit still when eating Skips breakfast sometimes Other
Total 100.0 79.9 11.3 44.5 25.0 18.4 47.6 11.8 6.0 19.4
Mother only 100.0 79.2 12.5 43.5 25.6 18.1 45.8 10.7 5.8 20.0
Parents only 100.0 80.6 12.2 44.5 27.7 19.2 46.2 10.2 6.3 18.7
Mother and grandparents, etc. 100.0 82.6 13.2 48.3 25.3 18.8 53.6 13.1 6.8 16.6
Parents and grandparents, etc. 100.0 83.5 12.6 50.5 26.4 19.3 53.7 13.7 6.5 16.0
Mother and nursery school teachers, etc. 100.0 78.2 8.4 43.2 23.2 17.9 45.5 13.6 5.2 21.0
Parents and nursery school teachers, etc. 100.0 78.7 8.0 40.9 22.4 18.9 47.1 12.6 6.3 21.0
Mother, grandparents, nursery school teachers, etc. 100.0 78.7 8.8 43.0 21.6 17.4 49.0 13.6 6.4 19.9
Parents, grandparents, and nursery school teachers, etc. 100.0 78.4 7.7 43.4 21.5 18.0 50.0 13.4 6.4 20.8
Grandparents and others only; or grandparents and nursery school teachers, etc. 100.0 77.4 11.6 44.5 19.3 16.6 50.6 11.9 5.4 22.2
Other combinations 100.0 75.8 8.0 41.9 19.5 16.7 43.1 14.5 4.3 23.1
Employment status of mother  
  Unemployed 100.0 80.7 12.5 44.8 26.7 19.0 47.9 11.3 6.2 18.6
  Employed 100.0 78.3 9.2 43.9 22.0 17.5 47.1 12.7 5.8 20.9
Notes:
1)  Caregiver combinations "Unknown" as well as concerned or not concerned "Unknown" are included in the total.
2)  Employment status of mother only includes data where the child lives together with his/her mother.

Table 12   Concerns about eating behaviors in the breakdown of children's obesity(multiple answers)
(Unit: %)
  Total Concerned Not concerned in particular
  Eats very little Eats too much or very little at times Has many likes and dislikes Does not bite well Does not sit still when eating Skips breakfast sometimes Other
Total (100.0) 100.0 79.9 11.3 44.5 25.0 18.4 47.6 11.8 6.0 19.4
Slightly unhderweight (9.5) 100.0 83.2 27.1 49.5 25.4 15.5 50.6 13.5 5.2 15.9
Normal (59.5) 100.0 80.3 10.6 45.0 25.7 18.6 48.4 11.4 5.9 19.1
Slightly obese (11.9) 100.0 76.7 3.3 36.3 23.0 22.1 43.1 11.2 8.4 22.6
Unknown (19.1) 100.0 78.9 10.7 45.4 24.0 17.0 46.7 12.6 5.5 20.2
Note:  Concerned or not concerned "Unknown" is also included in the total.

With regard to concerns about children's behavior at mealtimes, those who go to bed late are more likely to "skip breakfast sometimes"; 24.4% go to bed "after 11:00 pm". In comparison, the Second Survey also showed this tendency where a higher proportion of children who go to bed late "skips breakfast sometimes". (Figure 6, 7)

Figure 6   Children who "skip breakfast sometimes" in the breakdown of bedtime
Figure 6 Children who skip breakfast sometimes in the breakdown of bedtime

Figure 7   Changes of bedtime between the Second and Third Surveys
Figure 7 Changes of bedtime between the Second and Third Surveys
Note:  Calculated based on responses from the Second and Third Surveys

Focusing on children who "skip breakfast sometimes" in the breakdown of "parents' eating habits" at the Second Survey, parents who answered "yes" to each question of "having meals" are with lower percentages of children who skip breakfast sometimes. Also, mothers answering "no", rather than fathers answering "no", have a higher proportion of children who "skip breakfast sometimes". (Figure 8)

Figure 8   Children who "skip breakfast sometimes" in the breakdown of parents' eating habits at the Second Survey
Figure 8 Children who skip breakfast sometimes in the breakdown of parents' eating habits at the Second Survey
Note:  Calculated based on responses of children living together with parents from the Second and Third Surveys

68.6% households had "rules on giving snacks" when giving snacks to children; specifically, "not giving too much sweets (54.2%)" and "giving snacks at regular hours (53.7%)". (Figure 9,10)

Figure 9   Whether or not parents have rule(s) of giving snacks to children
Figure 9 Whether or not parents have rule(s) of giving snacks to children

Figure 10   Rules on giving snacks (multiple answers)
Figure 10 Rules on giving snacks (multiple answers)

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