• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.89-93
• /
• 2017

Background: Rates of overweight and obese Australians are high and continue to rise, putting a large proportion of the population at risk of chronic illness. Examining characteristics associated with preference for a work-based weight-loss program will enable employers to better target programs to increase enrolment and benefit employees' health and fitness for work. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken at two Australian mining sites. The survey collected information on employee demographics, health characteristics, work characteristics, stages of behavior change, and preference for workplace assistance with reaching a healthy weight. Results: A total of 897 employees participated; 73.7% were male, and 68% had a body mass index in the overweight or obese range. Employees at risk of developing obesity-related chronic illnesses (based on high body mass index) were more likely to report preference for weight management assistance than lower risk employees. This indicates that, even in the absence of workplace promotion for weight management, some at risk employees want workplace assistance. Employees who were not aware of a need to change their current nutrition or physical activity behaviors were less likely to seek assistance. This indicates that practitioners need to communicate the negative effects of excess weight and promote the benefits of a healthy lifestyle to increase the likelihood of weight management. Conclusion: Weight management programs should provide information, motivation. and trouble-shooting assistance to meet the needs of at-risk mining employees, including those who are attempting to change and maintain behaviors to achieve a healthy weight and be suitably fit for work.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.11-16
• /
• 2004

Objective : In this study, we aimed to produce basic data on the prenatal environmental risk factors of low birth weight infants at a community level. Methods : In 2000, we conducted the direct interview using questionnaire about prenatal environmental risk factors with low birth weight infant-delivered mothers and normal weight infant-delivered mothers in Asan-city, Chungcheongnamdo Province, Korea. The questionsgiven to the mothers included past pregnancy history, menstrual status, disease history before and during the pregnancy, family history, environmental risk factors and exposure history. The responses of the twogroups were compared to calculate the prenatal environmental risk factors of each group. Results : Mothers' smoking was significantly associated with low birth weight infants (adjusted odds ratio(AOR) 3.27; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-8.56) and preterm baby (AOR 4.20; 95% CI, 1.21-14.61). Other environmental risk factors were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: Smoking of mothers can be a risk factor for the delivery of low birth weight infants. These results could provide the basic data on prenatal environmental risk factors of mothers of low birth weight infants and suggest research topics for further community-based evaluation.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.52 no.4
• /
• pp.234-241
• /
• 2019

Objectives: To identify simultaneous behavioral changes in alcohol consumption, smoking, and weight using a fixed-effect model and to characterize their associations with disease status. Methods: This study included 7 000 529 individuals who participated in the national biennial health-screening program every 2 years from 2009 to 2016 and were aged 40 or more. We reconstructed the data into an individual-level panel dataset with 4 waves. We used a fixed-effect model for smoking, heavy alcohol drinking, and overweight. The independent variables were sex, age, lifestyle factors, insurance contribution, employment status, and disease status. Results: Becoming a high-risk drinker and losing weight were associated with initiation or resumption of smoking. Initiation or resumption of smoking and weight gain were associated with non-high-risk drinkers becoming high-risk drinkers. Smoking cessation and becoming a high-risk drinker were associated with normal-weight participants becoming overweight. Participants with newly acquired diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and cancer tended to stop smoking, discontinue high-risk drinking, and return to a normal weight. Conclusions: These results obtained using a large-scale population-based database documented interactions among lifestyle factors over time.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
• /
• 2009.05a
• /
• pp.1176-1182
• /
• 2009

Due to recession in real estate market, interest of risk analysis is increasing. Feasibility study in the first stage takes a great role in a project. There are not objectified tools which are able to cope with uncertainty of project, and feasibility study based on selected method of determinism does not include liquidity of weight risk. Also, shortage of consideration for subjective and atypical external factors causes inappropriate results. Therefore, this study proposes feasibility study model focused on risk factor influences in construction cost and sales cost. Considering effective level of cost based on objective risk factors and probable weight of risk by this model, real workers are able to bring correct and scientific decisions better than former method based on selective analysis of real estate development.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute Of Construction Engineering and Management
• /
• 2006.11a
• /
• pp.571-573
• /
• 2006

This study suggests a reasonable method for visualizing risk management level by risk weight linked with 4D model. This study defines risk management procedures as preparation, identification, analysis, response and management to manage potential risks in the construction project. The modules for computerizing in this system consist of planning, construction, application of WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) and RBS (Risk Breakdown Structure), and risk analysis. The final results include a method for visualizing risk level by each element of the project by using 4D simulation technique. It can be used as a visualized risk management tool instead of current system using numerical data.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.13-24
• /
• 2011

This study compared actual weight with perceived weight, described the prevalence of unhealthy weight control behavior, determined the differences in psychological and personal variables between participants that reported unhealthy weight control behavior and those who did not, and examined the relationship of eating habits to unhealthy weight control behavior for Korean adolescents. The study population consisted of a nationally representative sample of middle and high school students who completed the Fifth Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBWS): Fifth in 2009. Among the 75,066 participants of KYRBWS, 35,473 (n = 18,851 girls and 16,622 boys) were eligible for a research focused on unhealthy weight control behavior. The results of this research were as follows: First, there were considerable discrepancies (45.1% of girls and 32.8% of boys) between the perceived weight and the actual weight. Second, overall, unhealthy weight control behavior was more prevalent in girls and fasting was the most commonly reported behavior. Third, participants that reported unhealthy weight control behavior scored significantly lower on scaled measures of happiness, health, academic achievement, and economic status; in addition, they scored higher on stress measures. Fourth, girls and boys shared common protective factors of having breakfast and vegetables more often, perceiving their weight as underweight rather than overweight, and having a correct weight conception. Protective factors unique to girls were having lunch and dinner more often. Girls and boys shared common risk factors of the consumption of soda, fast food, instant noodles, and snacks more often, while consumption of fruit more often was a risk factor only for girls. The improvement of protective factors and minimization of risk factors through Home Economics classes (and other classes relevant to health) may mitigate unhealthy weight control behavior of adolescents.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.283-295
• /
• 2008

The slimness favored trend made students shape up body image by weight control using restrained eating. Many students especially female ones tend to be in eating disorder status. The aim of this study was to find the relation between weight, eating habits and dietary self efficacy in the selected middle school girl students group with high risk eating disorder (7.9%) and the one with low risk eating disorder (24.1%). This study was conducted by EAT-26 questionnaire method and all the data was analyzed by SAS (Statistical Analysis System) program. The results were as follows; The physical condition of eating disorder students (159.5cm height, 50.7kg weight and 97.4% PIBW) was higher and bigger than that of normal students(158.2 cm, 47.2 kg, and 92.6% PIBW). Weight control experience in the high risk group (69.4%) was significantly more frequent than normal group (p<0.001). The gap between actual body weight and desired weight was higher in high risk eating disorder group than in normal group (p<0.001). Dietary self-efficacy score of middle school female students in the high risk eating disorder group was high when they were in temper, in confusion, and after argument. However, when they were in cooking (p<0.01), with friends (p<0.05), in assembling dishes (p<0.01), and with family (p<0.05) the dietary self-efficacy score of high risk group was lower than that of normal group. In the high risk eating disorder group, eating speed was often faster (p<0.05) and overeating rate (p<0.01) was higher than in normal group. In general, EAT-26 score was correlated positively with gap weight, but negatively correlated with dietary self efficacy score(p<0.01). Gap weight and dietary self efficacy were significantly different in normal group. however, there was no relation in high risk eating disorder group. Under the circumstance of high risk eating disorder, as weight and dietary self efficacy did not affect the relation with eating disorder score, when it is determined as eating disorder some other factors besides weight and diet self efficacy seem to affect the eating disorder score. In conclusion, the factors related with eating disorder were gap weight and some items of dietary self efficacy. Thus, correct understanding of healthy weight and dietary self efficacy enhancement require the development of nutrition education contents and the practice of nutrition education.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.65-78
• /
• 2021

Objectives: This study was aimed to investigate the weight change of the high-risk group and the general maternal group and weight-relating factors in the early postpartum period. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of those who received postpartum care from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020, in the postpartum care center affiliated with one Korean Medicine hospital. A total of 257 postpartum women's medical charts were included and divided into the high-risk group and the general maternal group. We investigated the weight changes and Body mass index (BMI) of the postpartum women and compared the difference between the two groups after taking the postpartum care. Finally, we used a Pearson correlation analysis to identify the weight-relating factors in the early postpartum period. Results: All the postpartum women showed the following results; 33.81±4.03 years old as the mean age; 22.23±3.28 as pre-pregnancy BMI; 58.21±9.18 kg of pre-pregnancy weight increased into 70.75±9.70 kg in the last month of pregnancy. Of the total 257 patients, 149 (58.0%) of high-risk pregnancy experience and 108 (42.0%) of general pregnancy were included. The edema index right after childbirth was significantly higher in the high-risk group than in the general maternal group (p<0.001), but there was no significant difference in BMI. After treatment with Korean medicine treatments, body weight, BMI, and edema index decreased significantly in both groups (p<0.01). As a result of correlation analysis, weight gain during pregnancy had a significant negative correlation with pre-pregnancy weight and pre-pregnancy BMI and a significant positive correlation with weight and BMI of the last month of pregnancy. In particular, pre-pregnancy BMI and body weight showed a significant negative correlation only in the high-risk group. Postpartum weight loss was significantly positively correlated with pre-pregnancy weight, pre-pregnancy BMI, weight & BMI of the pregnancy last month, weight gain during pregnancy, and decrease in edema (p<0.01) Conclusions: The weight during pregnancy of the high-risk group increased in inverse proportion to the pre-pregnancy BMI. The level of edema right after childbirth was significantly higher than that of the general maternal group, but showed a significant decrease after 2 weeks of Korean medicine treatments. Although it implicates the need for active Korean medicine treatments in the early postpartum period, further studies with controlled groups are needed.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.97-106
• /
• 2008

This study investigated the relationships between eating disorder risk, body image perception, weight control, and dietary habits in Korean women. Body shape perception, the Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) and dietary habit information were collected by a self-administered questionnaire to 373 adult women and the data were analyzed by the Chi-square test. 31.4% of the women were classified in the eating disorder group by a score of over 20 points on the EAT-26. Compared to the normal group, more women in the eating disorder risk group perceived that a thin body shape was the ideal body shape and were dissatisfied with their body shape. This group was also more interested in weight control and more likely to try weight control methods. The eating disorder risk group was more likely to skip meals and snacks than the normal group. In addition, they had a greater appetite and a higher frequency of overeating than the normal group. Over 30% of the Korean women surveyed were categorized at high risk of eating disorders. They were more likely to overestimate body weight and shape and tried to control their weight by inappropriate methods. To prevent eating disorders in adult women, nutrition education programs should incorporate strategies to change inaccurate self-body image and to disseminate information about healthy weight control methods.

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