• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.34-45
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of routine haecho bibimbab (boiled rice with assorted seaweed mixtures) consumption on the bowel habits in humans. Forty free-living adults (female 38, male 2) participated in this study (mean age $41.2\;{\pm}\;7.5$). After a baseline survey on general characteristics, life style and dietary habits, the participants were asked to consume haecho bibimbab during two-week period for lunch. Habitual bowel movements were checked out every day by a questionnaire and nutrient intake was estimated by a 24-hour recalls before and after the study. After 2 weeks of clinical trial, the bowel habits had improved. Haecho bibimbab increased the number of bowel movements, changed hard stools into softer ones. It also lessen the sense of incomplete evacuation, and abdominal pain during defecation, increased water intake (p < 0.001) and improved gastrointestinal problem. The participants believed that haecho bibimbab was effective in improving their constipation symptoms and bowel habits (p < 0.01). Routine haecho bibimbab consumption tended to increase especially vitamin A, E and folate intake (p < 0.01). The present findings suggest that routine seaweed-based lunch meal (haecho bibimbab) consumption may improve bowel habits without side effects.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.3 no.5
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• pp.685-694
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• 1998

This cross-sectional study was conducted to describe the changes of plasma cardiovascular disease(CVD) risk factors in Korea. Overnight fasting plasma levels of total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein(HDL)-cholesterol, triacylglycerol and glucose were analyzed. Blood pressure and anthropometric data were also measured. Health practice factors such as smoking status, alcohol consumption and frequency fo exercise were evaluated by a self-administered questionnaire. Questions regarding dietary habits and food preferences were also asked. Seventy eight percent of the subjects had more than one CVD risk factor. Plasma total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, and fasting blood glucose were significantly increased according to the subjects body mass index$(kg/m^2$, BMI), whereas HDL-cholesterol, low density lipoprotein(LDL)-cholesterol and blood pressure showed no significant differences with BMI. Current smokers had significantly high plasma total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels. Alcohol consumption significantly increased plasma total cholesterol and fasting blood sugar, but regular exercise had no effects on the plasma CVD risk factors. Overeating and frequency of fast food consumption were positively correlated with the CVD risk score, whereas intake of grains, meats and vegetables were negatively correlated with that score. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the effects of specific dietary factors on plasma lipid levels. For plasma total cholesterol level, the frequency of fast food intake explained 8% of the variance, followed by habitual overeating, frequency of grain intake and high cholesterol food intake(Model $R^2$=22.4%). For plasma triacylglycerol level, preference of oily foods accounted for 7.5% of the variance, followed by eating breakfast, preference of fruit and frequency of grain intake(Model $R^2$=22.0%). The findings suggest that intervention programs to reduce the risk of CVD should focus on health practice through reducing BMI, smoking cessation and moderate or no alcohol drinking. Moreover, desirable dietary habits such as eating breakfast, not overeating and reduced intake of fast food may improve CVD risk.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.79-86
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: It is well-known that alcohol consumption is associated with stroke risk as well as with aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 gene (ALDH2) polymorphisms. However, it is unclear whether ALDH2 polymorphisms are associated with stroke risk independent of alcohol consumption and whether such association is modified by sex. We evaluated sex-specific associations of a common ALDH2 polymorphism and alcohol consumption with stroke risk in a Korean population. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study involving 8,465 men and women, aged 40-69 years and free of stroke between June, 2001 and January, 2003, and followed for the development of stroke. We identified new cases of stroke, which were self-reported or ascertained from vital registration data. Based on genome-wide association data, we selected a single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs2074356), which shows high linkage disequilibrium with the functional polymorphism of ALDH2. We conducted Cox proportional hazards regression analysis considering potential risk factors collected from a baseline questionnaire. RESULTS: Over the median follow-up of 8 years, 121 cases of stroke were identified. Carrying the wild-type allele of the ALDH2 polymorphism increased stroke risk among men. The multivariate hazard ratio [95% confidence interval] of stroke was 2.02 [1.03-3.99] for the wild-type allele compared with the mutant alleles, but the association was attenuated after controlling for alcohol consumption. Combinations of the wild-type allele and other risk factors of stroke, such as old age, diabetes mellitus, and habitual snoring, synergistically increased the risk among men. Among women, however, the ALDH2 polymorphism was not associated with stroke risk. CONCLUSIONS: The prospective cohort study showed a significant association between a common ALDH2 polymorphism and stroke risk in Korean men, but not in Korean women, and also demonstrated that men with genetic disadvantages gain more risk when having risk factors of stroke. Thus, these men may need to make more concerted efforts to control modifiable risk factors of stroke.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.16-24
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• 1976

To determine patterns of preference for and consumption of milk and milk products in Seoul city, a study was conducted of 724 girls and 587 boys ranging in age from elementary school to collage level, from July to August, 1974. Findings are summarized as follows: In general, milk and milk products were liked by both children and adults. A contrasting low tendency to purchase such products was due to socioeconomics, habitual, and educational factors, as well as a lack of adequate nutritional information, especially with regard to milk. Knowledge of the value of milk as a source of calcium was lacking, especially among boys. The majority of homemakers understood that milk was nutritious, but not specifically as the best source of calcium for their families. Milk, especially in beverage form, was commonly regarded as food for the infant and small child. Grandparents would not drink it. Such a beliefe is similar to that found in under-developed or developing nations. The need for nutrition education must be emphasized. Milk and milk products are expensive foods, particularly for the low income family; but even in higher income levels, consumption was limited. Milk was consumed mostly by the younger family members, less by the older. Among the children, preference, knowledge, and concern with the nutritional value of milk increased with age of subjects. It is presumed that awareness improved with increasing length of school education. Greater frequency of milk intolerance was found with decreasing age of respondents: about 10 percent had some form of milk intolerance. This percentage will be found to be much higher in villages where milk is less familiar. This study indicated that respondents liked ice cream best of all the milk products. For beverage, they preferred cider and cola in summer, coffee and milk in winter. Smaller families consumed more milk than larger families. Household consumption of condensed milk was very low, mostly as coffeemate. Among households interviewed, as many had regular as irregular delivery of dairy milk. Average consumption ranged 0.5 to 1.5 Hop. Engel indices of these families ranged 20 to 60. Use of milk at home was very simple. Not many methods of preparation were found. The milk was used mostly as beverage. In order to improve the nutritional level of Korean children and adults who especially need additional calcium, milk and milk products are recommended as the best source of calcium. Nutrition education of children and their parents should receive greater emphasis.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.317-330
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to figure out the characteristics of dietary habits and lifestyles related to the development of insulin resistance syndrome(IRS). The participants in this study were 595 adults with one or more abnormal data from a health examination and 215 normal adults. When IRS was defined as a condition in which the subjects have 2 or more abnormalities among obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and hyperglycemia, the prevalence rate was 37.8%. We classified the 595 adults by the number of components of IRS components they had, the higher age and obesity index they had. Total cholesterol and glucose levels in the blood were also positively related to the number of IRS components. IRS subjects tended to practice less habitual drinking and more exercise and weight control. Coffee consumption and dining out frequency were also lower in the IRS group. An analysis of food habits by odds ratio indicated that total food score was better in the IRS group. However, it appeared that food habits such as \"frequent snacking\" and \"never rejecting offered foods\" need to be improved in IRS subjects. Other undesirable food habits were related to the consumption of eggs, dairy products, fried foods, garlic and onion. Dietary intake of Ca, Fe, riboflavin, Vit A, and energy were less than 75% of the Korean recommended allowance for more than half of the subjects. Nutrient intake was lower, Ca/P ratio from food intake was worse in the IRS group. Our results indicated that nutrition counseling for IRS need to be focused on balanced food intake to supply sufficient amount of each nutrient.nt of each nutrient.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.573-581
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate the association of nutrients intake with sugar-containing food consumption of elementary school students in Daegu-Kyungpook area. We analyzed the dietary information from 164 elementary school students (82 boys, 82 girls) participated in "Dietary Intake Survey of Infants, Children and Adolescents" conducted by Korea Food & Drug Administration and Korea Health Industry Development Institute. Information on habitual dietary intake of sugar-containing foods was collected by food frequency questionnaires. Daily nutrients intake of each subject was calculated from 24-hour recall data for two non-consecutive days. As a result of average daily intake of major foods of elementary school students was analyzed from 1 to 50 ranking that show up higher ranking of white milk and white rice but include many kind of sugar-containing food. Dietary intake of energy, carbohydrate, Ca, P, Fe and riboflavin were significantly lower for girls with higher sugar-containing food frequency scores. Significantly negative associations between Index of Nutrition Quality (INQ) and sugar-containing food frequency scores were observed for calcium (r = -0.34) and iron (r = -0.32) among girls. Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR) was significantly lower for girls with higher sugar-containing food frequency scores (r = -0.26). Our results indicated that nutrition education for elementary school students should focus on the importance of reducing the sugarcontaining food consumption with more attention for girls.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.1089-1103
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• 2002

The purpose of this study is to identify factors influencing a health-promoting lifestyle among highly educated, married women with or without work outside the home. It is a direct interview, cross-sectional study. Subjects were 250 married, unemployed women and 236 married women employed as teachers. Women who have not graduated college, work only part-time or have no current spouse were excluded. The instruments used were the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (Walker, et al., 1987) and the Habitual Physical Activity Questionnaire (Backe, et al., 1982), The HPLP scores of the employed, married women were significantly lower than those for unemployed respondents. for both groups of respondents, the self-actualization subscale was the highest score and the exercise subscale was the lowest score. The HPLP indicated that exercise is a very weak area. Thus, an increase in exercise time and frequency, especially for highly educated, married women, is suggested. Multiple regression analysis revealed that a health-promoting lifestyle of unemployed, married women was affected by sports activity, leisure-time activity, depression and satisfaction of role allotment. On the other hand, a health-promoting lifestyle of employed, married women was affected by sports activity, leisure-time activity, stress, self-perceived economic status, coffee consumption, husband's help, and maid's help. That is, with more sports activity and leisure-time activity, less depression and more satisfaction of role allotment, unemployed, married women would have higher HPLP scores. Also, with more sports activity and leisure-time activity, less stress, better self-perceived economic status, less coffee consumption, more husband's help and more maid's help, employed, married women would have higher HPLP scores. The results indicate that sports activity and leisure-time activity were the first and the second determinants of health-promoting lifestyle respectively. Therefore, an exercise-centered health-promoting program for highly educated, married women is suggested in the community or workplace. Especially, the program should be designed to be easily approachable for highly educated, employed married women who have more of a role burden compared to unemployed women.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.827-837
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• 1999

Presently Sasang constitutional medicine draws public attention and a diet based on this theory in gaining popularity. However, scientific data are not available to probe the effects of constitutional diet and the correlations between constitution and food consumptions. Thiry-four healthy subjects[26 females and 8 males] with Tae-eum(females: 5, males: 7), So-yang(females: 9)and So-eum(females: 12, males: 1), were studied. Subjects were not told the kind of constitutional diets they were consuming. Tae-eum constitutional diet was given to all subjects more than 2 meals a day for 8 weeks. The Sasang constitutional classification, food frequency questionnaire and food habits were assessed. The anthropometric assessment, dietary assessment, health status assessment and blood analysis were carried out before and after taking the Tae-eum constitution diet. In case of females, the body weights and BMI were different among the constitutional groups in the following order : Tae-eum constitutional diet. In case of females, the body weights the body weights and BMI were different among the constitutional groups in the following order: Tae-eum>So-yang>So-eum. In case of males, the body weights and BMI of Tae-eum were significantly higher than those of So-eum. In general, habitual food consumption of all of these four groups were very close to those for each of Sasang constitutional types described by Sasang medicine. After 8-weeks of Tae-eum diet, the health status and blood biochemical parameters were not significantly changed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.204-208
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• 2012

Objectives: To investigate whether caffeine intake is associated with urinary incontinence (UI) among Japanese adults. Methods: A total of 683 men and 298 women aged 40 to 75 years were recruited from the community in middle and southern Japan. A validated food frequency questionnaire was administered face-to-face to obtain information on dietary intake and habitual beverage consumption. Urinary incontinence status was ascertained using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form. Results: Mean daily caffeine intake was found to be similar between incontinent subjects (men 120 mg, women 94 mg) and others without the condition (men 106 mg, women 103 mg), $p$=0.33 for men and $p$=0.44 for women. The slight increases in risk of UI at the highest level of caffeine intake were not significant after adjusting for confounding factors. The adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) were 1.36 (0.65 to 2.88) and 1.12 (0.57 to 2.22) for men and women, respectively. Conclusions: No association was evident between caffeine intake and UI in middle-aged and older Japanese adults. Further studies are required to confirm the effect of caffeine in the prevention of UI.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.37 no.8
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• pp.662-668
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• 2004

This study investigated the effects of soy oligosaccharide consumption on feces bifidobacteria proliferation and feces lipid profiles in Korean young women. Eight healthy young women (25 - 34 years) were fed 15 g/day of soyoligosaccharide solution, containing 3 g of oligosaccharide as form of raffinose and starchyose, for 15 days with their habitual meals. Soyoligosaccharde intake increased the numbers of fecal total bacteria significantly until 10 days (p < 0.05) and the numbers of fecal bifidobactreia were significantly increased until 15 days (p < 0.05) . The fecal pH was significantly decreased (p < 0.05) by soyligosaccharide intake. Fecal lipid concentration showed the trend to increse, especially fecal triglyceride level was significantly increased by soy oligosaccharide intake (p < 0.05). The water contents of feces, the amount of feces, evacuation frequency and taking time to evacuation were not affected by soyoligosaccharide intake. The color of feces changed to yellow-brown, and hardness of stool and effort to evacuation were reduced by soyoligosaccharide intake. These results suggest that soyoligosaccharide intake (3 g/day) in young women improved the gut microflora and fecal lipid profile. Therefore, soy oligosaccharide has a potential to be used as one of the promising prebiotics, and controlled trials with larger sample sizes and longer duration are need to be studied further.