• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.127-142
• /
• 2022

This study was undertaken to investigate the association between maternal nutrition knowledge, dietary attitudes, and behaviors related to sugar intake and sugar intake reduction in preschool children. Eighty-three children aged 5 to 6 years attending kindergartens in Hongseong and their mothers participated in this study from October 2020 to February 2021. The average age of the mothers was 38.7 years, and 53.0% of the children were male. As child age increased, nutrition knowledge of sugar intake reduction increased, but no relation was found between age and, dietary behavior and preference related to sugar intake reduction. For children whose mothers perceived that their child's sugar preference was high, the behavioral score of sugar intake reduction was low. The more mothers allowed their children to eat sweet food; the higher was their child's preference for sweet food, which was also significantly associated with an increased risk of high sugar intake. When mothers were provided education that encouraged reducing children's sugar intakes, knowledge about reducing sugar intake in children was significantly increased. The study emphasizes the importance of the roles of mothers and primary caregivers regarding reducing the sugar intakes of preschool children.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.9
• /
• pp.5207-5212
• /
• 2013

Background: Physical activity has been found to play a role in cancer prevention. The purpose of this matched case-control study was to investigate the association between physical activity levels, water intake, constipation and colorectal cancer (CRC). Materials and Methods: Two hundred and thirty-two patients diagnosed with CRC (125 male, 107 female) were enrolled in this case-control study. Cases were matched to 271 population controls (137 male, 134 female). Results: Drinking more than 4 cups of water daily decreased the risk of CRC by 33-42%; however, this effect was non-significant. Having constipation was found to be a significant risk factor for developing CRC with an OR=6.284 (95%CI=2.741-14.40). With reference to sedentary behavior, minimum activity (600-3000 Metabolic Equivalents Task (MET)) had 43% protection against CRC and the level of Health Enhancing Physical Activity OR was 0.58 (at 95%CI; 0.37-0.92). A significant negative association was found between CRC and physical activity levels expressed as both METs and MET-hours/week (p for trend=0.017 and 0.03, respectively). Among females, a significant trend of reduction in CRC by 62% was observed with increasing the level of physical activity expressed in MET (p for trend=0.04). Conclusions: The risk of CRC may be reduced by adopting a healthy lifestyle and practicing physically activity regularly, especially among females. Consuming adequate amounts of water and healthy bowel motility could also reduce the risk of CRC.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.235-246
• /
• 2018

Purpose: This study aimed to comprehend the real context of metabolic syndrome-related factors of Korean male blue-collar workers from small-sized companies based on the health belief model. Methods: A total of 37 workers from three companies were interviewed, and three series of focus group interviews were conducted. Data were analyzed using deductive content analysis. Results: Data were classified into four categories: knowledge, perceived susceptibility and severity, perceived barriers, and beliefs. Knowledge referred to low knowledge level; perceived susceptibility and severity referred to unawareness of susceptibility and severity; perceived barriers referred to shift work, overtime work, and a social context including having no choice but to drink; and beliefs referred to believing that health promotion behaviors do not relate to preventing metabolic syndrome, believing that one cannot prevent metabolic syndrome oneself, and believing that professional help is required. Conclusion: To prevent and reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome among Korean male blue-collar workers, interventions should focus on strategies to increase metabolic syndrome-related knowledge and perceptions, social support, and self-efficacy for practicing health behaviors. In addition, it is necessary to develop policies for establishing a healthy drinking culture in companies.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.9 no.9
• /
• pp.61-73
• /
• 2022

The article examines the ownership structure and dividend payout behavior of India-listed firms using a panel regression approach. It focuses on family ownership and examines why dividend payouts of family firms differ from non-family firms. The study finds that family firms dominate and have concentrated ownership using data from the NSE-listed regular dividend-paying firms. Although family ownership concentration is high among Indian firms, these firms are not concerned about distributing cash as dividends. Instead, these firms focus on retaining and passing on control from one generation to the next. The evidence shows that family firms pay low dividends and have higher leverage than non-family counterparts. The results support the entrenchment of minority shareholders and the proposition that a high payout signals a reduction in the information asymmetry and level of risk. The study further illustrates that cash dividends tend to reduce the level of risk perceived; however, (cash dividend) leads to the deterioration firm's liquidity and aid in the shrinking of cash among emerging market firms. The originality of the paper lies in factoring ownership concentration while explaining the dividend behaviour from an emerging markets perspective, characterized by high private benefits and weak protection for external minority shareholders.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.38-53
• /
• 2021

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Abdominal obesity is associated with metabolic disorders, and, in recent years, its prevalence in Korea has continuously increased. The change of lifestyle, particularly diet, is critical for the reduction of abdominal obesity. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an intervention focused on dietary self-efficacy and behaviors on the improvement of abdominal obesity. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Abdominally obese adults with additional cardiovascular risk factors were recruited through 16 medical facilities in South Korea from the year 2013 to 2014. The participants were randomly divided into 2 groups: an intensive intervention group (IG) that received a multi-component intervention to reduce abdominal obesity, by mainly focusing on dietary attitude and dietary behavior change, and a minimal information intervention group (MG) that received a brief explanation of health status and a simple recommendation for a lifestyle change. The interventions were provided for 6 mon, and health examinations were conducted at baseline, 3-, 6-, and 12-mon follow-ups. A path analysis was conducted to identify the process governing the changes in abdominal obesity. RESULTS: The IG showed an improvement in self-efficacy for eating control and diet quality at 6-mon follow-up. Abdominal obesity improved in both groups. Waist circumference was observed to be decreased through the path of "improved self-efficacy for eating control in food availability-eating restriction-improved dietary quality" in IG. Most changes in follow-ups were not significantly different between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The intensive program targeting the modification of dietary behavior influenced management of abdominal obesity, and the effect occurred through a step-by-step process of change in attitude and behavior. Generally, improvements were also seen in the MG, which supports the necessity of regular health check-ups and brief consultation. The results can be used for further development and implementation of more successful interventions.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.63 no.2
• /
• pp.17.1-17.12
• /
• 2023

Antimicrobial (AM) resistance is a growing threat in human and veterinary medicine, spreading across species and perceived as One-Health issue. Prudent use of AM products is essential in mitigating this risk in both human and veterinary medicine. Farm veterinarians, responsible for prescribing appropriate AM and offering advice to farmers on their proper usage, are regarded as key players in the livestock industry. An online survey of farm veterinarians (n = 1,531) was conducted to assess their educational experience, beliefs, current status of prescription, practical behavior, and self-efficacy regarding the prudent use of antimicrobials (PUA). The data from 170 respondents were analyzed using descriptive statistics, regression and mediation analysis. Participants chose AM based on their experiences, academic resources, and peer veterinarians. Approximately 77% did not routinely conduct antibiotic-susceptibility-test. Most participants believed in the importance of PUA and the role of veterinarians to reduce AM resistance, but they reported a lack of awareness among farmers and insufficient national support interfere with their practical behavior with regard to PUA. Half of the participants had PUA-education, and 78.6% reported that education had a positive impact on their behavior with PUA. Self-efficacy partly mediates the relationship between belief and behavior for PUA, which accounted for 23.77% of the total effect that beliefs have on behavior for PUA. The findings of the study show that enhancing veterinarians' abilities to practice and their self-efficacy through education tailored to the current status of farms can contribute to the reduction of AMs in the livestock sector.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.239-256
• /
• 2024

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Over the past 10 yrs, the prevalence of diabetes in Korea has continued to incline, and the importance of lifestyle modification to manage diabetes has been highlighted. For patients with diabetes, carbohydrate intake reduction is effective in improving glycemic control; thus, we aimed to analyze the effect of carbohydrate intake ratio and suggest an appropriate carbohydrate intake ratio. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Using the 8th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2019-2021), we analyzed the data including participants aged 30 yrs or older with diabetes, and they were stratified into good and poor glycemic control groups. To analyze the correlation between the dietary behavior characteristics of participants with diabetes and the carbohydrate intake ratio, sociodemographic characteristics, dietary behavior, and health behavior were adjusted, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to present the adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: In the unadjusted crude model, when carbohydrate intake ratio in total energy intake increased by 1%, the likelihood of poor glycemic control increased by 1.007-fold (95% CI, 0.998-1.016; P = 0.121). In model 1, which uses age and sex as adjustment variables, an increase of up to 1.011-fold was possible (95% CI, 1.001-1.021; P = 0.008). In model 2, which added variables such as diabetes duration, frequency of fruit consumption, frequency of lunch and, frequency of dinner, the risk of poor glycemic control increased by 1.010-fold as the carbohydrate intake ratio increased (95% CI, 0.998-1.022; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study confirmed that as the ratio of carbohydrate intake to total energy intake increases the likelihood of poor glycemic control also increases in patients with diabetes. Therefore, to improve glycemic control in patients with diabetes, controlling the carbohydrate intake may be helpful.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.39-51
• /
• 2002

There are many concerns about the smoking among adolescents. Smoking status, smoking habit and dietary habit of high school students were studied using anonymous questionnaires. One hundred fifteen of 380 students(30.3%) have experienced smoking and 58.3% of them initiated it in the middle school, mostly because of the curiosity. The most plausible reasons for smoking were for stress reduction and feel bored. The students who smoked cigarettes were not likely to eat properly and their dietary habits were generally inadequate. The smoking group had less consideration of food balance, more skipping breakfast, more irregular meal time, less snack, and less frequent intake of vegetables. Also one-day dietary records obtained from 24hr recall showed less diverse food intake in smoking students. Considering the risk of poor eating behavior in smoking, nutritional care should be taken to emphasize as well as the smoking prevention and health programs, and more attention needs to be given to the relationship between smoking and the attitude and the behavior of smoking students toward their health, including proper eating habits. Since the results revealed that the majority of smoking students had previously attempted or thought about quitting to smoke, proper support programs that are more comprehensive and not temporal need to be developed.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.59 no.5
• /
• pp.101-108
• /
• 2017

Recently, the occurrence of landslides has been increasing over the years due to the extreme weather event. Developments of landslides monitoring technology that reduce damage caused by landslide are urgently needed. Therefore, in this study, a strain ratio sensor was developed to predict the ground behavior during the slope failure, and the change in surface ground displacement was observed as slope failed on the field model experiment. As a result, in the slope failure, the ground displacement process increases the risk of collapse as the inverse displacement approaches zero. It is closely related to the prediction of precursor. In all cases, increase in displacement and reverse speed of inverse displacement with time was observed during the slope failure, and it is very important event for monitoring collapse phenomenon of risky slopes. In the future, it can be used as disaster prevention technology to contribute in reduction of landslide damage and activation of measurement industry.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.119-130
• /
• 2017

This paper presents a numerical investigation on the seismic behavior of isolated bridges with supplemental viscous damping. Usually very large displacements make seismic isolation an unfeasible solution due to boundary conditions, especially in case of existing bridges or high risk seismic regions. First, a suggested optimal design procedure is introduced, then seismic performance of three real bridges with different isolation systems and damping levels is investigated. Each bridge is studied in four different configurations: simply supported (SSB), isolated with 10% damping (IB), isolated with 30% damping (LRB) and isolated with optimal supplemental damping ratio (IDB). Two of the case studies are investigated under spectrum compatible far-field ground motions, while the third one is subjected to near-fault strong motions. With respect to different design strategies proposed by other authors, results of the analysis demonstrated that an isolated bridge equipped with HDLRBs and a total equivalent damping ratio of 70% represents a very effective design solution. Thanks to confirmed effective performance in terms of base shear mitigation and displacement reduction under both far field and near fault ground motions, as well as for both simply supported and continuous bridges, the suggested control system provides robustness and reliability in terms of seismic performance also resulting cost effective.