• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.249-259
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of auricular acupressure on reducing obesity in adult women with abdominal obesity. Methods: The study design was a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Participants were 58 women, aged 20 years or older, assigned to the experimental group (n=30) or control group (n=28). Auricular acupressure using vaccaria seeds was administered to the experimental group. The sessions continued for 8 weeks. Outcome measures included body weight, abdominal circumference, and body mass index, body fat mass, body fat percentage, triglyceride, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and serum glucose. Results: Women in the experimental group showed significant decreases in body weight (t=6.19, p<.001), abdominal circumference (t=4.01, p<.001), and body mass index (t=2.58, p=.006) after 8 weeks compared with those in the control group. Conclusion: Results show that auricular acupressure using vaccaria seeds was effective in decreasing body weight, abdominal circumference, body mass index, and triglyceride levels in adult women with abdominal obesity.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.137-172
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• 2013

Globally, awareness about obesity is increasing rapidly. In Korea, obesity is recognized as a disease and steps are being taken to treat it. From the health governance point of view, such standardized measures amplify the risk of obesity and thus play an important part in the prevention of the disease. In this context, various obesity treatments act as a medium for the problem-solving process. In recent years, obesity surgery has been viewed as a rational solution to the problem of obesity. In the context of standardization of treatment, Callon's "Process of Translation" in STS theories highlights the importance of the central actor (Obligatory Passage Point; OPP). However, in the case of obesity, it is difficult to identify a single OPP to project different perspectives of an actor's needs. "Lapband surgery" often acts as a "boundary object" in this context. This article assesses this absence of central actors in the process of problem solving through a case study of adoption of Lapband surgery in Korea. Further, we attempt to suggest an analytical framework with a boundary object and multiple translation concepts to aid solving the problem of obesity.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.555-563
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• 2021

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the pancreatic fat fraction (PFF) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in children with and without obesity and to correlate PFF with body mass index (BMI) z-score, hepatic fat fraction (HFF), and ultrasonography-derived pancreato-perihepatic fat index (PPHFI). Methods: This prospective study included 45 children with obesity and 19 without obesity (control group). PFF and HFF were quantitatively assessed using the abdominal multi-echo Dixon method for MRI. The PPHFI was assessed using transabdominal ultrasonography. Anthropometric, MRI, and ultrasonographic characteristics were compared between the two groups. Correlations between PFF, HFF, PPHFI, and BMI z-scores in each group were also analyzed. Results: The PFF, HFF, PPHFI, and BMI z-score were higher in the group with obesity than in the control group (PFF: 6.65±3.42 vs. 1.78±0.55, HFF: 19.5±13.0 vs. 2.31±1, PPHFI: 3.65 ±1.63 vs. 0.94±0.31, BMI z-score: 2.27±0.56 vs. 0.42±0.54, p<0.01, respectively). PFF was correlated with BMI z-scores, PPHFI, and HFF in the obesity group, and multivariate analysis showed that PFF was strongly correlated with BMI z-score and PPHFI (p<0.05). The BMI z-score was strongly correlated with PFF in the control group (p<0.01). Conclusion: These results suggest that MRI-derived PFF measures are associated with childhood obesity. PFF and PPHFI were also highly correlated in the obesity group. Therefore, PFF may be an objective index of pancreatic fat content and has the potential for clinical utility as a non-invasive biomarker for the assessment of childhood obesity.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.447-454
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• 2006

Objectives : To determine obesity for the screening of individuals at high risk of coronary heart disease in urban areas. Methods : Data were obtained from 4,137 adults between 19 and 85 years of age (2,372 males, 1,765 females), not recognized as taking medicines for cardiovascular diseases, who underwent a health check-up at the health promotion center of university hospitals in cities between Jan. 2003 and Dec. 2004. The variables studied were divided into two broad categories, and their relationships examined. obesity indices and risk factors for coronary heart disease. To reveal the relation between each of the obesity indices and the proportion of individuals at risk of coronary heart disease, the obesity indices were stratified and odds ratios obtained after age adjustment. Results : From a gender comparison of anthropometric measures, men were found to have significantly greater heights, weights, and waist and hip circumferences than women. From a gender comparison by the obesity indices, women were found to have significantly higher BMI, %Fat, waist to hip and waist to stature ratios than men. As obesity indices, the waist to stature ratio and the waist circumference were strongly correlated with coronary risk factors, both in men and women. The age-adjusted odds ratio of coronary risk factors increased significantly with increasing waist circumference, BMI, %fat, waist to hip and waist to stature ratios, and were highest specifically for the waist to stature ratio and the waist circumference. Conclusions : The study results showed that the waist to stature ratio and the waist circumference, as obesity indices, were most closely correlated with coronary risk factors. It is suggested that the waist to stature ratio and, specifically, the waist circumference can be effectively used in the field of health management for screening those with high levels of coronary risk factors.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a Combined Exercise Program on Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome Factors for Chronic Psychiatric Inpatients. Methods: Thirty two subjects participated in this program who were admitted into a national mental hospital of C city. All measurements were done at baseline, 4 week, 8 week, and 12 week during the program. The effectiveness of the program was evaluated according to the change of body mass index, body fat, waist circumference, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, and fasting blood sugar. Collected data was analyzed by frequency, percentage, and repeated measures ANOVA with SPSS WIN 19.0. Results: There were statistically significant differences in the body mass index (p=.002), body fat (p<.001), waist circumference (p<.001), triglyceride (p=.020), and fasting blood sugar (p=.008). However, there were no statistically significant differences in the total cholesterol, or high density lipoprotein cholesterol. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that a combined exercise program has positive effect on obesity and metabolic syndrome factor. Thus, a Combined Exercise program is recommended as an intervention to improve obesity and metabolic syndrome factors for chronic psychiatric inpatients.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.95-104
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• 2006

Objectives : This study was performed to assess the effect onf abdominal obesity treatment on changes in abdominal subcutaneous and visceral fat. Methods : The study was conducted on 61 abdominally obese patients (13 men and 48 women). Measures of body weight, waist circumference, abdominal subcutaneous and visceral fat area by CT scan, and V/S ratio (Viscero-subcutaneous fat ratio) were acquired before and after Kirindiet therapy. Paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to est the effects of teatment. Results : Following a mean of 68 days of treatment, waist circumference (-15%), abdominal total fat (-40%), subcutaneous fat (-37.9%), visceral fat (-47.8%) and V/S ratio (-11.1%) were significantly reduced (p<0.05). The change in V/S ratio in female patients was not statistically significant (p=0.491) whereas the change in the V/S ratio in male patients was significant indicating a greater loss of visceral fat (p=0.017). Please check that my changes reflect what the study found Conclusions : The reduction in visceral fat was greater than for subcutaneous fat in male patients but not for female patients.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1337-1348
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• 2009

This study was conducted to determine major factors underweight and obesity by comparing and analyzing dietary habits, exercise and weight control of obesity and underweight of Adolescents. The subjects were 26,039 students and they were divided according Body Mass Index(BMI). The collected data was analyzed through frequency, percentage, chi-square test. The results were as follows. 1) Among the male students 67.3%, 32.7% and among the female ones 82.7% and 17.3% were included in the underweight and the obese groups, respectively. 2) For dietary habits, the rate of skipping breakfast(12.5%, 13.6%) was considerably higher than those of skipping lunch and dinner. 3) The females and the obese group received more stress, felt more unhappiness, grief, depression and thought more suicide than the males and the underweight group, respectively. 4) The underweight group had higher rate of strengthening exercise of males and females. 5) For self-recognized body shape, while in the underweight group had a wrong image of their body shape, while more males in the obese group had a distorted self body image. 6) Measures to control weight were regular exercise, reduced amount of diet, and the obese group controled their weight more actively than the underweight group of the male and the female students. 7) From these results, appropriate mental health programs and education programs about health knowledge, properly self-recognized body shape and measures to control weight were considered to be necessary.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.1203-1214
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• 2016

Obesity is a risk factor for various diseases as well as itself a disease and associated with socioeconomic factors. The obesity proportion has been increasing in Korea over about 15 years so that investigation of the socioeconomic factors related with obesity is important in terms of preventation of obesity. In particular, the association between obesity and socioeconomic status varies with gender and has spatial dependency. In the paper, we estimate the effects of socioeconomic factors on obesity proportion by gender, considering the spatial correlation. Here, a conditional autoregressive model under the Bayesian framework is used in order to take into account the spatial dependency. For the real applicaiton, we use the obestiy proportion dataset at 25 districts of Seoul in 2010. We compare the proposed spatial model with a non-spatial model in terms of the goodness-of-fit and prediction measures so the spatial model performs well.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.109-120
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• 2014

Objectives: This study was to examine the associations between obesity level and major chronic diseases in older population in Korea, using different obesity indicators. Methods: Data was from the 2008 KloSA Biomarker pilot, a nationwide sample of 514 non-institutionalized subjects (age $63.6{\pm}9.8$ years; women 57.2%). Anthropometric information was collected by home visiting nurses. Portable bioimpedence devices(Omran HBF359) were used for measuring fat mass. Obesity cut-offs used the Asian criteria of $BMI{\geq}25$, $WC{\geq}90/85cm$, and $fat%{\geq}25/35$ for men and women. Chronic disease prevalence was defined by physician-diagnosed history of 8 specified diseases. Results: Prevalence of chronic diseases significantly increased with increment of obesity level by BMI, WC and fat %. Odds ratios of acquiring chronic diseases remained significant in the obese group (BMI OR 2.76, 95%CI 1.82-4.19; WC OR 2.73, 95%CI 1.81-4.11; Fat OR 1.87 95%CI 1.26-2.78), after adjusting for age, sex, marital status, education, work participation, household income, smoking, drinking, and exercise. Conclusions: Obesity measured by all three indicators, BMI, WC, and fat mass cannot be disregarded, accentuating the significant effect on increases in disease risks among older population. BMI and WC measure appeared better to assess the risks of chronic diseases.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.301-312
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• 2011

Firefighters and police officers have the third highest prevalence of obesity among 41 male occupational groups in the United States (US). However, few studies have examined the relationship of firefighter working conditions and health behaviors with obesity. This paper presents a theoretical framework describing the relationship between working conditions, health behaviors, and obesity in firefighters. In addition, the paper describes a detailed study plan for exploring the role of occupational and behavioral risk factors in the development of obesity in firefighters enrolled in the Orange County Fire Authority Wellness Fitness Program. The study plan will be described with emphasis on its methodological merits: adopting a participatory action research approach, developing a firefighter-specific work and health questionnaire, conducting both a cross-sectional epidemiological study using the questionnaire and a sub-study to assess the validity of the questionnaire with dietary intake and physical activity measures, and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the body mass index as an obesity measure in comparison to skinfold-based percent body fat. The study plan based on a theoretical framework can be an essential first step for establishing effective intervention programs for obesity among professional and voluntary firefighters.