• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.374-382
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• 2009

Young adults are likely to start a new life style which may cause weight gain or obesity since leaving their parents for higher education or university. Whilst young people are slim in general, it is common to see them trying to manage their weight. Few studies have been carried out in Korea to support those changes in lifestyle that can result in weight gain in early adulthood. This study aims to identify prevalence of dieting as well as factors inducing weight gain among university students under unrestricted living conditions. A total of 99 university students were enrolled and asked to complete a questionnaire over a 3-day study period from June to September, 2008. T-test and $X^2$-test were applied to compare each behavior between weight gainers and maintainers. Logistic regression was also used for further analysis. Half of the participants used 'eat less' and 'exercise' as a way of dieting, and weight gainers tried to control their weight significantly more than weight maintainers. Most participants were engaged in very little exercise and were more likely to watch TV and use a computer. The time of lunch was proven as the only factor to predict weight change in the participants. As a result of this study, an intervention to promote exercise with friends or as a group is required to makeup for the lack of exercise among young adults. Further studies are also necessary to investigate how each meal time a day relates to the amount of food eaten. (Korean J Community Nutrition 14(4) : $374{\sim}382$, 2009)

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.282-292
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• 2023

Objectives: Bone health in early adulthood, as individuals approach peak bone mass, plays a critical role in preventing osteoporosis later in life. This study aimed to investigate the associations between lifestyle and dietary factors, anthropometric measurements, and urinary bone resorption markers in young adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 100 healthy Korean adults (50 men and 50 women) in their 20s and early 30s. Bone mineral density (BMD), anthropometric measurements, dietary intake (24-hour recall), and urinary bone resorption indicators (deoxypyridinoline and N-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen) were analyzed. Variables were compared between the osteopenia and osteoporosis groups (OSTEO group: 30% men and 60% women) and the healthy control group. Results: Men in the OSTEO group were significantly taller than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Women in the OSTEO group had significantly lower body weight and body composition (muscle and body fat) than those in the normal group (P < 0.01). Men in the OSTEO group had a significantly higher intake of animal calcium (Ca) than those in the normal group (P < 0.05). Women in the OSTEO group had significantly higher dietary fiber, vitamin A, Ca, plant Ca, and potassium intake than did those in the normal group (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in caffeinated beverage consumption, eating habits, or urinary bone resorption indicators between the OSTEO and control groups of either sex. Conclusions: In our study of young South Korean adults, we observed low bone density levels, with particularly low BMD in taller men and underweight women. We found a higher nutrient intake in the OSTEO group, indicating the possibility of reverse causality, a phenomenon often found in cross-sectional studies. Therefore, there is a need to further elucidate dietary factors related to osteoporosis in young adults through prospective cohort studies involving a larger population.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.31-60
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• 2005

This study was performed to analyze empowerment process of the disabled. Participants were 11 disabled college students and they were individually face-to-face in-depth interviewed until data were saturated. This study used the grounded theory approach based on Strauss and Corbin(1998). With the qualitative constant comparative analysis, 105 concepts, 22 subcategories, and 12 categories were generated. In the axial coding, a paradigm model was proposed as follows: The central phenomenon of the empowerment process of the disabled adolescents was 'Rising from the Limits'. The causal conditions were 'Just living' and 'realizing disabilities'. The contextual conditions were 'Being excluded', 'But wishing', and 'Breaking down'. The intervening conditions were 'Without giving up' and 'Taking support'. The action/interaction strategies were 'Grasping own lifestyle' and 'Being proactive'. The consequences were 'Acquiring the self-control', 'Getting generosity', and 'Participating in society'. In the selective coding, the core category was 'to live together stately with grasping own lifestyle pro-actively as the disabled'. Based on the core category, three types and 4 stages of the empowerment process of the disabled adolescents were found. The types were 'Social change oriented type', 'Self-development oriented type', and 'Passive effort oriented type' and the stages took 'Isolation stage', 'Rising stage', 'Mastering stage' and 'Stately being together stage'. In particular, this process had the circulation structure of which these 4 stages are not terminated, and developed and repeated. In conclusion, these results convey to us the understanding and knowledge about empowerment process of the disabled as their healthy -whole and unique- development process. And some implications and suggestions for the social work services and theories about the disabled focusing on the pre-adulthood period.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.14-22
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• 2008

Objectives : The authors purposed to present data for explaining gene-environmental interaction causing depressive disorder by examining the effects of genetic factors related to the serotonin system and environmental factors such as stressful life events in early adulthood. Methods : The subjects were 150 young adults(mean age 25.0${\pm}$0.54), a part of 534 freshmen who had completed the previous study of genotyping of TPH1 gene. We assessed characteristics of life events, depression and anxiety scale and checked if they had a depressive disorder with DSM-IV SCID interview. Along with TPH1 A218C genotype confirmed in previous study, TPH2 -1463G/A and 5HTR2A -1438A/G genes were genotyped using the SNaPshot$^{TM}$ method. Results : In comparison with the group without C allele of TPH1 gene, the number of life events had a significant effect on the probability of depressive disorder in the group with C allele. Other alleles or genotypes did not have a significant effect on the causality of life events and depressive disorder. Conclusion : The results of this study suggest that TPH1 C allele is a significant predictor of onset of depressive disorder following environmental stress. It means that the TPH1 gene may affect the gene-environmental interaction of depressive disorder.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.253-259
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• 2011

Purpose: Long-term survivors of childhood cancer appear to have an increased risk for the metabolic syndrome, subsequent type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in adulthood compared to healthy children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency of the metabolic syndrome and associated factors in childhood cancer survivors at a single center in Korea. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of medical records of 98 childhood cancer survivors who were diagnosed and completed anticancer treatment at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea between Jan. 1996 and Dec. 2007. Parameters of metabolic syndrome were evaluated between Jan. 2008 and Dec. 2009. Clinical and biochemical findings including body fat percentage were analyzed. Results: A total of 19 (19.4%) patients had the metabolic syndrome. The median body fat percentage was 31.5%. The body mass index and waist circumference were positively correlated with the cranial irradiation dose (r=0.38, P<0.001 and r=0.44, P<0.00, respectively). Sixty-one (62.2%) patients had at least one abnormal lipid value. The triglyceride showed significant positive correlation with the body fat percentage (r=0.26, P=0.03). The high density lipoprotein cholesterol showed significant negative correlation with the percent body fat (r=- 0.26, P=0.03). Conclusion: Childhood cancer survivors should have thorough metabolic evaluation including measurement of body fat percentage even if they are not obese. A better understanding of the determinants of the metabolic syndrome during adolescence might provide preventive interventions for improving health outcomes in adulthood.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.595-602
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• 1997

Treatment of newborn female rats with gonadal steroids induces permanent sterility in adulthood. We investigated the alteration in expression patterns of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in neonatally estrogenized sterile rats (ESR). Newborn female rats received daily injections of 17${\beta}$-estradiol (E, 10 ${\mu}$g) from the day of birth (day 1) to postnatal day 5. Controls were subjected to vehicles over the same period. All animals were sacrificed on week 7 after birth. Hypothalamic GnRH mANA levels were markedly higher in all ESR than in controls, while hypothalamic GnRH contents in ESR increased in proportion to the frequency of daily administration of E. However, both pituitary LH6 mRNA and serum LH levels were inversely decreased by the same treatment. The data indicate that neonatal exposure of E equally elevates the expression of GnRH gene, but reduces the secretion of GnRH, accordingly leading to attenuation of LH6 gene expression and circulating LH levels. The temporal effect of E and/or progesterone (P) on GnRH and LH6 mRNA levels was also examined in ESR. Newborn female rats were daily injected with E (10 ${\mu}$g) or vehicle for five successive days from day 1 and ovariectomized at week 5. They were implanted with E (235 ${\mu}$g/ml) two days prior to week 7, injected with P (1 mg) 42 h later, and sacrificed 7 h after P administration. In ovariectomized controls, hypothalamic GnRH mRNA levels were dropped to half by treatment of E and restored by subsequent treatment of P. The negative feedback action of E on GnRH mRNA levels observed in ovariectomized rats was completely blocked by neonatal exposure of E. The change in pituitary LH mRNA levels was similar to that in hypothalamic GnRH mRNA levels. Taken together, the results suggest that neonatal treatment of E alters the synthesis and release of GnRH in adulthood and furthermore blocks the negative feedback regulation of E which occurs normally after ovariectomy.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.1400-1405
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• 2007

The effect of supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid into n-3 fatty acid deficient diet on improvement of loaming related brain function was investigated. On the second day after conception, Sprague Dawley strain dams were subjected to a diet containing either n-3 fatty acid deficient (Def) or n-3 fatty acid deficient + docosahexaenoic acid (Def+DHA). After weaning, male pups were fed on the same diet of their respective dams until adulthood. Motor activity and Morris water maze tests were measured at 10 weeks old. In motor activity test, there were no statistically significant differences in moving time and moving distance between the Def and Def+DHA diet groups. The n-3 fatty acid deficient with DHA (Def+DHA) group exhibited a shorter escape latency, swimming time and swimming distance (P<0.05) compared to the n-3 fatty acid deficient group (Def) but there was no difference in resting time and swimming speed between the experimental diet groups. In memory retention trial, the number of crossing of the platform position (region A) was significantly greater than those of other regions for the Def+DHA group. However, the Def group swam randomly without preference for the provisions platform location, indicating poorer memory retention. From those results, supplementation with DHA into the n-3 fatty acid deficient diet improved the spatial loaming ability in rats as assessed by Morris water maze test.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.917-922
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• 2009

The effect of adding docosahexaenoic acid into an n-3 fatty acid adequate diet on the improvement of learning related brain function was investigated. On the second day after conception, Sprague Dawley strain dams were subjected to a diet containing either n-3 fatty acid adequate (Adq, 3.4% linolenic acid) or n-3 fatty acid adequate+docosahexaenoic acid (Adq+DHA, 3.31%linolenic acid plus 9.65% DHA). After weaning, male pups were fed on the same diet of their respective dams until adulthood. Motor activity and Morris water maze tests were measured at 10 weeks. In the motor activity test, there were no statistically significant differences in moving time and moving distance between the Adq and Adq+DHA diet groups. The n-3 fatty acid adequate with DHA (Adq+DHA) group tended to show a shorter escape latency, swimming time and swimming distance compared to the n-3 fatty acid adequate group (Adq), but the differences were not statistically significant. There was no difference in resting time, but the Adq+DHA group showed a higher swimming speed compared to the Adq group. In memory retention trials, the numbers of crossing of the platform position (region A), in which the hidden platform was placed, were significantly greater than those of other regions for both Adq and Adq+DHA groups. Based on these results, adding DHA into the n-3 fatty acid adequate diet from gestation to adulthood tended to induce better spatial learning performance in Sprague Dawley rats as assessed by the Morris water maze test, although the difference was not significant.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.349-378
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• 2010

The Life-Course perspective is a theoretical orientation that views the life-course as the age structure embedded in social institutions and history and understands the life-course of individual and group in the contextual perspective. The life-course perspective studies were developed in Germany and North America. They study social and historical effects and the effect of institutions and the state on the life-course, the pathway of the work career and differences of labour outcomes, and the inequality that is developed in the life-course. In Korea, the life-course perspective studies were tried in various fields and cumulated. However, it didn't established as a theoretical orientation. For applying the life-course perspective to connect the individual life-course with social and historical event, I describe the historical location of individuals born between 1930 and 1979 and analyse the change of their transitions to adulthood exploratorily. On results, the extension of education made the structural change of their life-course, and in young cohort the timing of leaving school, entering workforce, marriage and childbirth was delayed and transitions were made in narrower spread. It means the standardization of the life-course as appears in modern society. The 1970s birth cohort has the differenciated life-course pattern, however I cannot verify that change because of the right censoring.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.64-71
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• 2014

Objectives: Physical activity behavior begins to decline during adolescence and continues to decrease throughout young adulthood. This study aims to explain factors that influence physical activity behavior in a sample of female adolescents using a health promotion model framework. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was used to explore physical activity behavior among a sample of female adolescents. Participants completed measures of physical activity, perceived self-efficacy, self-esteem, social support, perceived barriers, and perceived affect. Interactions among the variables were examined using path analysis within a covariance modeling framework. Results: The final model accounted for an $R^2$ value of 0.52 for physical activity and offered a good model-data fit. The results indicated that physical activity was predicted by self-esteem (${\beta}$=0.46, p<0.001), perceived self-efficacy (${\beta}$=0.40, p<0.001), social support (${\beta}$=0.24, p<0.001), perceived barriers (${\beta}$=-0.19, p<0.001), and perceived affect (${\beta}$=0.17, p<0.001). Conclusions: The findings of this study showed that the health promotion model was useful to predict physical activity behavior among the Iranian female adolescents. Information related to the predictors of physical activity behavior will help researchers plan more tailored culturally relevant health promotion interventions for this population.