Jeongyun Choi¹, Haeryun Park¹, Kyunghee Song¹, Sooyoun Kwon², Youngmi Lee^1,

Despite rapid growth in the meal box market, few studies have examined the dietary quality of convenience store meal boxes. This study aimed to evaluate nutritional quality of meal boxes sold in Korean convenience stores, to determine whether they are appropriate as a single complete meal for Korean adults. A total of 46 meal boxes from four major convenience stores were collected and menu composition as well as food diversity was analyzed. Calorie and nutrient content were compared to one-third of the recommended daily Korean Dietary Reference Intakes in men aged between 19 and 29 years. Stir-fried, grilled, and deep-fried food was provided in larger portions, whereas fruit and dairy product servings were limited. The dietary variety score was only 3.2. The grain, meat, vegetables, fruit, and dairy patterns of 43 among the 46 meal boxes were a ‘11100’. The amount of meat provided exceeded the one-third of the daily recommended serving sizes for 19-29 aged Korean men by 136%, whereas that of vegetables was only 36%. The average calorie amount was 82.8% of estimated energy requirements, and sodium content was 242.4% of adequate intake. It was concluded that lack of food diversity and unbalanced nutrition was a common issue regardless of meal box type. Convenience store meal boxes that meet consumer nutritional needs should be developed to provide appropriate nutrition within a single complete meal.

meal box, convenience store, menu, food diversity, dietary quality