We investigated the eating habits and food preferences of middle school students to provide material for establishing dietary and nutritional education at the elementary level. We questioned 270 male and female students attending certain middle schools in the Daegu area about their eating habits and food preferences. Eating habits were found to be most regular for students in families where only one parent worked and irregular for students in families where both parents worked. There was a positive correlation between a higher level of academic education of the father and the frequency of consumption of instant foods. There was also a positive correlation between a higher level of academic education of the mother and the frequency of snack consumption. Male students had a higher preference for consuming animal foods than did female students. Students that lived in extended families tented to have a higher preference for vegetable foods. On the other hand, students that lived in nuclear families and students that lived in families where both parents worked preferred snacks more. Based on these results, parental employment and academic education level influences the eating habits and food preferences of middle school students.