Relationship between the Nutrition Quotient, Sustainable Diets, and Meal Guidance of Day-Care Center Teachers according to the Type of Day-Care Center : Focus on the Gangwon Area

This study analyzed the interrelationships between the nurtition quotient, sustainable diets, and the meal guidance given by day-care center teachers in Gangwon-do analyzing their general characteristics, nurtition quotient, interest in sustainable diets, and their meal guidance to children. The subjects were 359 childcare teachers. The analysis was carried out, by dividing them into 4 groups according to the type of day-care center. The average score of the nutritional quotient was 51.46 points, and in the area of moderation, the score was significantly higher in ‘private day-care centers’ and ‘home day-care centers’ compared to ‘workplace day-care centers’ (p<0.05). The overall average score of interest in sustainable diets was 3.49 points, and the response ‘I reduce the use of disposable products’ was significantly higher in ‘national․corporate day-care centers’ compared to ‘workplace day-care centers’ (p<0.05). The overall average score of the meal guidance was 4.20 points, and the response ‘I teach my children not to leave food behind’ was significantly higher in ‘home day-care centers’ than in ‘workplace day-care center’ (p<0.05), and ‘I teach children to recycle to protect the environment’ was significantly higher in ‘national․corporate day-care centers’ compared to ‘workplace day-care centers’ (p<0.05). Age and career (r=0.612, p<0.001), interest in sustainable diets (r=0.451, p<0.001), and the nutrition quotient (r=0.368, p<0.001) showed a positive (+) correlation, followed by career and interest in sustainable diets (r=0.277, p<0.001), and the nutrition quotient (r=0.170, p<0.01). Interest in sustainable diets, the nutrition quotient (r=0.385, p<0.001), and meal guidance (r=0.378, p<0.001) also showed a positive (+) correlation. In conclusion, it was found that the higher the age and longer the career of the day-care center teachers, the higher the interest in sustainable diets, and the more positive the nutrition quotient and meal guidance.