본 연구의 목적은 어머니의 식습관에 따라 유아의 식습관에 어떠한 차이가 있는지를 규명하고 나아가 유아의 비만에 관계가 있는가를 밝히는 데 있다. 본 연구에서 밝히고자 하는 연구문제는 다음과 같다.
첫째. 어머니의 배경변인(연령 및 학력과 직업유무)에 따라 어머니의 식습관의 차이, 둘째. 유아의 배경변인(유아의 성별 및 몸무게와 가정형편)에 따른 차이, 셋째. 어머니의 배경변인(연령 및 학력, 직업유무)에 따른 유아의 식습관의 차이, 넷째. 어머니의 식습관과 유아의 식습관과의 관계, 다섯째. 어머니의 배경변인 및 유아의 식습관과 유아 비만과의 상관관계를 분석하였다. 본 연구는 충청남도 서천군에 위치한 공립병설유치원에 재원하고 있는 만5세 유아의 어머니 108명을 연구대상으로 하였다. 본 연구에서 사용한 식습관 검사 도구는 백은순(2009), 김아름(2011), 최정화(2011)등이 사용한 유아의 식습관 설문지를 바탕으로 연구자가 수정??보완하여 유아교육 전문가 1인에게 내용타당도를 검증받아 사용하였으며, 본 연구의 수집된 자료는 SPSS 18.0프로그램을 이용하여 t-test증, 상관관계분석을 실시하여 얻어진 결과는 다음과 같다.
첫째. 어머니의 연령에 따른 어머니의 식습관은 통계적으로 유의미한 차이가 나타나지 않았으며, 어머니의 학력에 따른 식습관의 차이에서는 학력이 높을수록 식습관이 좋은 것으로 나타났다. 어머니의 직업유무에 따른 어머니의 식습관의 차이를 보면 식사예절에서는 직업이 있는 어머니가 더 높은 것으로 나타났으며, 가족식사횟수에서는 직업이 없는 어머니가 더 높은 것으로 통계적으로 유의미한 차이가 있는 것으로 나타났다.
둘째. 유아 성별에 따른 유아의 식습관은 남아와 여아간의 유의한 차이가 나타나지 않으나 식사 규칙성에서는 남아보다 여아가 차이가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 유아의 몸무게에 따른 유아의 식습관에서는 식사태도, 가족식사횟수에서 차이가 있는 것으로 나타났으며, 가정형편에서 식사 규칙성, 식사태도, 편식지양내용, 식사예절, 가족식사횟수에서 모두 높은 차이가 있는 것으로 나타났다.
셋째 어머니의 배경변인에 따른 유아의 식습관을 살펴보면 어머니의 연령에 따라 자녀의 식습관은 통계적으로 유의미한 차이가 없었으며, 학력에 따른 차이분석에서는 자녀 식사태도, 자녀 편식지양내용, 자녀 식사예절에서 대학교졸업인 어머니의 자녀에서 차이가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 어머니의 직업유무에 따른 유아의 식습관의 차이를 보면 가족식사횟수에서는 어머니가 직업이 있는 유아가 직업이 없는 유아보다 낮게 나타났으며, 어머니의 직업이 있는 유아가 직업이 없는 유아보다 식사태도, 편시 지양내용, 식사예절에서 통계적으로 유의미한 차이가 있음을 알 수 있다.
넷째 어머니의 식습관과 유아의 식습관의 상관관계를 살펴보면 식사규칙성, 식사태도, 편식지양내용, 식사예절에서 모두 상관관계가 있는 것으로 나타났다.
다섯째 어머니의 배경변인 및 유아 식습관이 유아의 비만에 어떠한 관계가 있는가를 살펴 본 결과 어머니의 배경변인 중 학력과 가정형편에서 유아의 비만에 관계가 있는 것으로 나타났으며, 어머니의 식습관과 유아의 식습관에서는 어머니의 식사예절과 자녀식사태도, 편식지양내용, 식사횟수에서 비만과 관계가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 이상의 결과를 볼 때 유아 비만에 미치는 식습관으로는 식사예절, 자녀 식사태도, 편식지양내용, 가족식사횟수에서 중요한 요인으로 나타났으며, 이러한 유아의 식습관은 어머니의 식습관과 밀접한 관계를 나타내었다. 또한 어머니의 식습관 수준에 따라 유아의 비만관리의 관련성이 높음을 알 수 있었다. 유아기에 좋은 식습관이 형성될 수 있도록 도와주어야 하며 가족과 유아의 식습관을 정확하게 파악하고 가족 모두 잘못된 생활습관을 바꾸는 것이 중요하다. 비만에 대한 문제와 예방을 위해 어릴 적부터 바람직한 식습관을 형성하도록 가정과 유아교육기관에서 식습관에 대한지도 및 교육이 필요하다고 생각하며 비만 유아를 대상으로 지속적이며 광범위한 연구가 필요하다고 생각한다.

The purposes of this study are to define any effects of a mother’s eating habits on an infant’s eating habits and to discuss how the mother’s eating habits are related to the infant’s obesity. The inquiries to be investigated in this study are presented as follows. The study analyzed, first, the mothers’ different eating habits caused by the mothers’ background variables (age, academic background and a status of employment), second, differences caused by the infants’ background variables (gender, weight and family circumstance), third, the infants’ different eating habits caused by the mothers’ background variables (age, academic background and a status of employment), fourth, the relation of the mothers’ eating habits with those of the infants and fifth, how the mothers’ background variables are correlated to the infants’ eating habits and obesity.
This study was carried out targeting a total of 108 mothers whose children at the age of five are going to a public kindergarten located in Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do. Regarding a tool to investigate the eating habits used in this study, the researcher of the study revised this questionnaire on the infants’ eating habits designed by BAEK Eun-soon (2009), KIM Ah-reum (2011), CHOI Jeong-hwa (2011) and others. This new research tool was confirmed for its validity by an individual expert in early childhood education, and the study conducted the t-test and the correlation analysis on the collected data using the SPSS 18.0 program. The findings of the investigation are summarized as follows.
First of all, the mothers’ age did not appear to cause a statistically significant difference in relation to the mothers’ eating habits. In terms of the mothers’ eating habits in connection with the mothers’ academic background, it was confirmed that the higher the academic background, the more positive the eating habits. As for the mothers’ different eating habits depending on the mothers’ status of employment, those mothers in employment turned out to have more sophisticated table manners, and regarding the frequency of family dining, the mothers out of employment came up with higher points, and that proved a statistically significant difference in connection with the mothers’ status of employment.
Second. when it comes to the infants’ eating habits related to the infants’ gender, no significant difference was found between the male infants and the female infants and yet, in regard to the eating regularity, it was learned that the female infants have differences comparing to the male infants. The infants’ eating habits in connection with the infants’ weight were confirmed that there are differences caused by the dining attitude and the frequency of family dining, and concerning the family circumstance, all of them from the eating regularity to the dining attitude, the avoidance of eating only what one wants to eat, the table manners and the frequency of family dining came up with great differences.
Third, in terms of the infants’ eating habits which could be affected by the mothers’ background variables, the children’s eating habits did not appear to have any statistically significant differences caused by the mothers’ age and yet, from the findings of the analysis on the difference in relation to the academic background, it was discovered that those children of the mothers who had graduated from colleges came up with differences regarding the children’s dining attitude, the children’s avoidance of eating only what one wants to eat and the children’s table manners. As for the infants’ eating habits related to the mothers’ status of employment, the frequency of family dining of those infants whose mothers are in employment turned out to be less than that of the infants whose mothers are unemployed. The infants with the mothers in employment presented statistically significant differences in relation to the dining attitude, the avoidance of eating only what one wants to eat and the table manners, comparing to those infants with the unemployed mothers.
Fourth, the study looked into the correlation of the mothers’ eating habits with the infants’ eating habits, and it was understood that they are all correlated with the eating regularity, the dining attitude, the avoidance of eating only what one wants to eat and the table manners.
Fifth, the study examined how the mothers’ background variables and the infants’ eating habits are connected to the infants’ obesity, and the results reported that, of the mothers’ background variables, the academic background and the family circumstance are related to the infants’ obesity and that in terms of the mothers’ eating habits and the infants’ eating habits, the mothers’ table manners and the infants’ dining attitude, avoidance of eating only what one wants to eat and the frequency of eating are connected to the obesity.
In the light of what has been learned so far, the study confirmed that those eating habits, such as the table manners, the children’s dining attitude and avoidance of eating only what one wants to eat and the frequency of family dining, are the significant factors to the infants’ obesity and that the infants’ eating habits are closely related to the mothers’ eating habits. Not only that, the study also learned that the standards of the mothers’ eating habits have a great influence on the management of the infants’ obesity. Infants should be led carefully to form positive eating habits, and it is important for families to change any negative lifestyles as correctly figuring out the eating habits of theirs and the infants as well. The study believes that in order to prevent the infants from being obese, it is necessary for the homes and the early childhood education institutes to educate the infants on the right eating habits as any inclusive researches on over-weight infants and children are continuously carried out.