Dietary habits and locus of control assessed in middle-school pupils from the Malopolska region of Poland.

BACKGROUND The formative years of adolescence are a crucial time for developing eating habits which, amongst other factors, are determined by personality traits. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to estimate eating behaviour in a group of middle school pupils according to gender and locus of control (LOC). MATERIALS AND METHODS Subjects were n = 200 boys and n = 200 girls, aged 14-16 living in the Malopolska region of Poland who were surveyed by questionnaire about their eating habits. A standardised Delta questionnaire, by Drwal, was used to assess LOC. Based on the median from the raw LOC scale scores, groups of boys and girls were thereby identified as having high internal (below the median) or high external (above the median) loci of control. The Chi2 test assessed the dependence between LOC and eating habits using PQStat software ver. 1.4.2.324 adopting values of p < 0.05 as beingstatistically significant. RESULTS Boys were found to consume dairy products significantly more frequently than girls (P < 0.001), and likewise for sugary fizzy drinks (P < 0.05). Dairy products were consumed daily by 51% girls and 70% boys (P < 0.001), whilst fizzy drinks by 32% girls and 43% boys (P < 0.05). Girls with an external LOC consumed breakfast (P < 0.01) and second breakfast (P < 0.001) less regularly, with a less frequent consumption of fruit (P < 0.001) and dairy products (P < 0.01). Boys having an external LOC consumed meals less frequently (P < 0.01), whereas sweets and confectionery products (P < 0.001) and fizzy drinks (P < 0.05) were consumed more often, compared to boys with an internal LOC. CONCLUSIONS Numerous irregularities in diet and differences in certain eating behaviour have been found in middle school students that relate to their gender and LOC. The more rational and appropriate choices were taken by subjects with an internal LOC.