• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.679-687
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• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Recently, there has been an increased interest in the importance of family meals on children's health and nutrition. This study aims to examine if the eating habits and eating behaviors of children are different according to the frequency of family dinners. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The subjects were third-grade students from 70 elementary schools in 17 cities nationwide. A two-stage stratified cluster sampling was employed. The survey questionnaire was composed of items that examined the general characteristics, family meals, eating habits, eating behaviors, and environmental influence on children's eating. The subjects responded to a self-reported questionnaire. Excluding the incomplete responses, the data (n = 3,435) were analyzed using ${\chi}^2$-test or t-test. RESULTS: The group that had more frequent family dinners (${\geq}$ 5 days/week, 63.4%), compared to those that had less (${\leq}$ 4 days/week, 36.6%), showed better eating habits, such as eating meals regularly, performing desirable behaviors during meals, having breakfast frequently, having breakfast with family members (P < 0.001), and not eating only what he or she likes (P < 0.05). Those who had more frequent family dinners also consumed healthy foods with more frequency, including protein foods, dairy products, grains, vegetables, seaweeds (P < 0.001), and fruits (P < 0.01). However, unhealthy eating behaviors (e.g., eating fatty foods, salty foods, sweets, etc.) were not significantly different by the frequency of family dinners. CONCLUSIONS: Having dinner frequently with family members was associated with more desirable eating habits and with healthy eating behaviors in young children. Thus nutrition education might be planned to promote family dinners, by emphasizing the benefits of having family meals on children's health and nutrition and making more opportunities for family meals.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.449-458
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of infants' temperaments and eating behaviors, mothers' eating behaviors and feeding practices in poor eating infants. The participants were 80 infants of 12-24 months (27 poor eaters and 53 matched normal controls) from a hospital and a public health center. Mothers were questioned about their eating behaviors and feeding practices, and infants' temperaments, eating behaviors, and nutrient intakes by one day food recall. Subjects were divided by mean nutrient adequacy ratio (MAR, < 0.75; poor eater). Intakes of Ca, P, Fe, Zn, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin C, E, folate were below 75% RDA in poor eaters, whereas protein, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B$_6$, C, folate exceeded 125% RDA in good eaters. Rhythmicity of infants' temperaments and eating behaviors, restriction of mothers' eating behaviors and feeding practices were significantly lower, whereas activity levels of infants' temperaments were higher than good eaters. In multiple logistic regression model of poor eaters, activity of infants' temperaments (T, OR: 1.19, CI: 1.05 - 1.35) and attention spans of infants' eating behaviors (A, OR: 1.18, CI: 1.03 - 1.35) were significantly positive, whereas rhythmicity of infants' eating behaviors (R, OR: 0.79, CI: 0.61-0.94) was significantly negative [E (the legit) : -6.8644+0.1712$\times$T-0.2337$\times$R+0.1641$\times$A]. Our findings suggest that examination of eating behaviors, feeding practices, and temperaments will help target interventions to improve infants' food intakes, and these variables should be examined at the time of nutrition counseling.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.214-221
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• 2008

This study analyzed the survey results of 302 college students from a coed university in Korea. The following three research components were examined: relationships among different eating styles, violation behaviors after unwanted eating, and consumption behaviors for three different food types. The analysis results showed that restrained eating was positively related to emotional eating, but negatively related to external eating. And emotional and external eating displayed a positive relationship. Body shape dissatisfaction was a significant variable in explaining restrained eating behavior. After unwanted eating, the restrained eaters expressed more regrets and stronger determination to diet than the less restrained eaters. The emotional eaters and external eaters responded that they could not stop eating and performed binge eating behaviors when they failed their diet. With regard to food attitudes and eating styles, snacks were favorably related to emotional eating. Fast food attitudes were negatively associated with restrained eating. Preference was the only significant variable in explaining snack consumption frequency; however sex, preference, and restrained eating were significant for fast foods. Finally, vegetarian foods were explained by preference and sex.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.732-746
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• 2021

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study examined the differences in psychosocial factors and eating behaviors by the stages of change (SOC) in nutrition management among elementary and middle school athletes. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Subjects were young athletes recruited from the athletic clubs of 10 organizations. Subjects responded to a survey questionnaire, and data on 167 athletes were analyzed. Subjects were grouped into the pre-action or action stage in nutrition management. The χ² test, t-test, analysis of covariance, and correlation analysis were used in data analysis. RESULTS: Athletes in the action stage (62.3%) compared to the pre-action stage, showed a higher self-efficacy (P < 0.01), and felt more confidence in performing specific eating behaviors (P < 0.05 to P < 0.01). Those in the action stage had more favorable beliefs regarding nutrition (P < 0.001) and agreed less strongly on the specific misconceptions/disadvantages of nutrition (P < 0.01) than those in the pre-action stage. Eating behaviors (P < 0.001) and subscales of the eating behaviors (P < 0.05 to P < 0.01) also differed significantly by the SOC group. Place of eating dinner (P < 0.05) and the person who prepares dinner (P < 0.05) showed significant differences by the SOC group. The relationship of self-efficacy, beliefs regarding nutrition, and eating behaviors to the SOC differed by sports type. Beliefs for football athletes, self-efficacy, and beliefs for baseball athletes were correlated significantly with the SOC, whereas all 3 variables were related to the SOC for handball and other athletes. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed differences in psychosocial factors and eating behaviors between the pre-action and action stages. Nutrition education should include strategies to help young athletes modify their beliefs, mainly misconceptions/disadvantages of nutrition, increase self-efficacy, and adopt specific and desirable eating behaviors. Nutrition education might employ different strategies considering the sports type that student-athletes participate.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.1170-1184
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• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Skipping breakfast is prevalent in young adult women. This study examined the psychosocial factors and eating behaviors according to the breakfast frequency among female university students. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The subjects were female university students in Seoul, South Korea. A survey was done, and the data from 291 students were analyzed. The subjects were categorized into a high breakfast group (HBG) and low breakfast group (LBG). Analysis of covariance and multiple linear regression were mainly used in data analysis. RESULTS: The subjects had breakfast 3.6 days/week on average. The HBG (47.4%) and the LBG (52.6%) differed significantly in breakfast status, including place, people eating together, breakfast menu, and breakfast preparers (P < 0.001). The HBG agreed more strongly with the advantages of breakfast than the LBG (P < 0.001). The disadvantages/barriers of breakfast were stronger in the LBG (P < 0.001). The HBG felt more confidence in having breakfast (P < 0.001) and confidence in general eating behaviors (P < 0.05). The two groups also differed in the subjective norms from parents/professionals (P < 0.001) and siblings/friends (P < 0.01). The HBG showed desirable eating behaviors more frequently (P < 0.001) and undesirable eating behaviors less frequently (P < 0.001). Multiple regression showed that the following were significantly related to the breakfast frequency, explaining 57.3% of the variance: self-efficacy regarding having breakfast (P < 0.001), perceived barriers of breakfast (no appetite/habit/indigestion, P < 0.001), desirable and undesirable eating behaviors (P < 0.01), subjective norms from parents/professionals (P < 0.05), and perceived barriers due to lack of time/preparation difficulties (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Psychosocial factors and eating behaviors were significantly related to the breakfast frequency. Nutrition education might include strategies to increase self-efficacy for breakfast, modify the beliefs, particularly the disadvantages/barriers of breakfast, adopt desirable eating behaviors, and elicit support from significant others.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.327-338
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to obtain information from married women regarding obesity-related factors and psychological eating behaviors, and to compare those variables among three groups, namely underweight, normal, and obese. The participants completed questionnaires regarding general obesity-related factors, major food servings/day, physical activity, dieting behaviors, perceptions of body image, and psychological eating behaviors. The results were as follows: The obese women reported a higher percentage of family history of obesity (74.8%) than the normal (43.5%) or underweight (28.2%) women. Most of the obese women (90.0%) accurately perceived their body image compared to 72.5% of the underweight and 56.6% of the normal weight women(p<0.001). No significant differences were found among the three groups for daily hours of exercise or computer use. In the case of hours of television watched daily, significant differences were found among the groups (obese 104 min/day, normal 87 min/day, underweight 76/min, p<0.05). Only 17.9% of the obese women reported eating 2 servings of milk products/day and only 23.2% of them reported eating 3 servings of protein foods/day as compared to the normal (25.4%, 18.0%) and underweight (29.4%, 41.7%) (p<0.01) women. About 98% of the obese and 78.5% of the normal weight women wanted to loose weight compared to only 10% of the underweight women (p<0.001). Psychological eating behavior was significantly correlated with subject BMI ($r^2$=0.32, p<0.01). Also, more obese women were unsatisfied with their body and had emotional eating behaviors as compared to the normal and underweight women, and this was statistically significant (p<0.001). In conclusion, the obese women had high perception rates of their body image, but had negative-psychological eating behaviors. Special behavior therapy is needed for obese women who show body dissatisfaction, emotional eating behaviors, long hours of daily TV viewing, and low intakes of protein and milk products.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.840-854
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• 2008

This study was carried out to compare the nutrition knowledge, nutrition attitudes and eating behaviors of dietitians and non-dietitians. The subjects of this study were 148 dietitians and 195 non-dietitians who are working in the metropolitan area. The general characteristics, nutrition knowledge, nutrition attitudes and eating behaviors of the subjects were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. The results were as follows: The result of anthropometric data and body mass index showed no significant differences between dietitians and non-dietitians groups. The dietitian group ($16.61{\pm}1.82$) showed a significant difference (p < 0.001) compared to the non-dietitian group ($14.60{\pm}2.17$) in nutrition knowledge scores. Nutrition attitudes of the dietitian group ($36.66{\pm}6.91$) was a little higher than the non-dietitian group ($36.21{\pm}7.95$), but not a significant difference. The dietitian group ($61.52{\pm}9.37$) and the non-dietitian group ($62.50{\pm}11.25$) were no significant difference in eating behaviors. The correlation between nutrition knowledge scores and nutrition attitudes score of dietitians and non-dietitians groups were no significantly difference and also the correlation between nutrition knowledge scores and eating behaviors scores were not statistically significance. Whereas, the correlation between nutrition attitudes and eating behaviors showed a significant difference (dietitian r = 0.40829, non-dietitian r = 0.51914). From these results, we could see the necessity of emphasis of nutrition knowledge by mending the education is necessary to enable dietitians to apply that in real life. Also it is important to guide non-dietitians to adjust their nutrition knowledge, nutrition attitudes and eating behaviors.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.530-538
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Calcium is important but deficient in diets of young adult women. This study aimed to examine if cognitive factors and eating behaviors differ according to calcium intake based on the Social Cognitive Theory. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Subjects were female college students in Seoul, Korea. Three hundred students completed the questionnaire regarding calcium intake, nutrition knowledge, outcome expectations, self-efficacy and eating behaviors. Data on 240 students were analyzed using t-test or ${\chi}^2$-test. Subjects were categorized into two groups, high calcium intake (HC, ${\geq}650mg/day$) and low calcium intake (LC, < 650 mg/day), according to recommended intakes of calcium for women aged 19-29 years. RESULTS: The LC group constituted 77.9% of total subjects. Nutrition knowledge was not different according to calcium intake. Three out of 12 outcome expectations items were significantly different between the HC and LC groups. Subjects in the HC group agreed more strongly with the practical benefits of consuming calcium-rich foods, including 'taste' (P < 0.01) and 'going well with other snacks' (P < 0.05), compared to those in the LC group. Negative expectations of 'indigestion' were stronger in the LC group than HC group (P < 0.001). Among self-efficacy items, perceived ability of 'eating dairy foods for snacks' (P < 0.001), 'eating dairy foods every day' (P < 0.01), and 'eating calcium-rich side dishes at meals' (P < 0.05) differed significantly between the HC and LC groups. Eating behaviors including more frequent consumption of dairy foods, fruits or fruit juice (P < 0.001), anchovy, seaweeds, green vegetables, protein-rich foods (P < 0.05), and less frequent consumption of sweets or soft drinks (P < 0.01) were significantly related to calcium intake. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that outcome expectations, self-efficacy in consuming calcium-rich foods, and eating behaviors are important in explaining calcium intake. Nutrition education needs to address practical benefits, reduce negative expectations of calcium-rich foods, increase self-efficacy, and modify eating behaviors contributing to calcium intake.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.131-139
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• 2016

Objectives: The present study was conducted to investigate associations between eating style and food intake of 45 female college students during Chuseok holidays. Methods: A ten-day food record was obtained and divided into two parts. The first five days (September 20-24, 2015) were considered as a 'Normal Day (ND 1-5)' and the subsequent five days (September 25-29) as 'Holiday (HD6-10)'. The middle three days (September 26-28) of the holidays were considered as the 'Peak Holiday (PD7- 9)'. Eating behaviors were measured using the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) and anthropometry was assessed in all study participants. Participants were grouped by cluster analysis according to the mean energy intake of the first three days of the Holiday. Results: Participants had a low-normal range of BMI and they were carefully restricting their food intake at Normal Day. Even the food intake did not exceed 2000 kcal per day during the Peak Holiday. External eating was the most prevalent type of eating behavior, followed by restrained eating and emotional eating. Normal energy and fat intake were correlated with the external eating subscale of the DEBQ. Restrained eating was associated with the weight, BMI, fat mass, waist, and hip girth of the subjects. Compared to the Normal Day, they overate during the Holiday with different eating styles including 'restraint', 'disinhibition', and 'fluctuation'. Therefore, neither eating behaviors nor anthropometry was associated with food intake during the Holiday. Although eating behaviors and anthropometric measures were not different among eating style clusters, the food intakes of disinhibition cluster were higher than those of restraint cluster during all the study periods. Conclusions: Subjects can be classified with the restraint, disinhibition, and fluctuation clusters. However, eating behaviors and anthropometry were not different among three clusters.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.111-125
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• 2006

This quantitative study was conducted to examine the relationship between weight control behaviors and disordered eating patterns in some university students. This study used a cross-sectional study design. A total of 347 students from three universities participated in this study (88 male and 259 female) Eating disorders were assessed using the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26); a score of =20 identifies individuals who likely have an eating disorder, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. A score for healthy dietary behaviors was obtained by self-assessment on a healthy diet scale (20-item questionnaire), and the severity of any state-trait anxiety was calculated by the state-trait anxiety inventory (40-item questionnaire). In the analyzed results, the percentage of participants with experience of weight control was 58% in male and 73% in female. The subjects with a high risk of an eating disorder (score of =20 of EAT-26) were 44.3% ($mean{\pm}S.D;\;18.9{\pm}13.4$) of the males, and 57.9% ($mean{\pm}S.D;\;23.2{\pm}11.6$) of the females. Higher Body Mass Index (BMI) was significantly related with an increased risk for an eating disorder in females, but not in males. In the group who had attempted weight control of all types, there was a severe risk of an eating disorder. Increased eating disorder risk was significantly related with weight control behaviors such as a higher number of attempts at weight control, having used medication, having experienced side effects, and having experienced disease for both sexes. Therefore, the results of this paper showed that detrimental behaviors of weight control are connected to an increased risk of eating disorders. Consequently, education regarding the correct, behaviors of weight control is necessary to prevent eating disorders in adolescents.