• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.10-21
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• 1976

The traditional application of night soil to vegetable gardens and rice paddies results in a most wide spread condition of parasitism, with a variety of helminths found in Korea. In addition to the above fact, the peculiar habit of the consumption of raw vegetables, fish, crustaceans and mammals provides a means of infestations of helminths. During the last sixty years numerous reports were found on the prevalence of helminths amongst the Korean population in different parts of the country, and it was generally recognized that ascariasis, hookworm disease, filariasis, clonorchiasis and paragonimiasis constitute the important helminthic disease in Korea. In practical measures of parasite control activities the main measures are summarized as mass-treatment, night-soil disposal and transmission control. Among the three, the mass-treatment has been commonly applied, however, no reduction of transmission has been obtained by treatment of a population. Therefore, the ultimate eradication of parasites will depend upon the application of comprehensive environmental sanitation measures. The basic environmental measures will be concerned with (a) the safe disposal of human excreta, (b) the provision of adequate and safe water supplies in such a way as to promote a higher standard of personal hygiene in the population, and (c) the prevention of food contamination by faecal material. Additional environmental measures will deal with the improvement of housing and housing hygiene and with general community development. Community development means social and cultural as well as economic development. The control measures on the parasitic endemic diseases, such as clonorchiasis and paragonimiasis are the good examples for community health development in Korea. The control of Clonorchis and Paragonimus infections are theoretically very simple, as the infection can only invade the human body by way of encysted metacercaria which are taken into the body when eating passive intermediate hosts(fishes, crabs and crayfishes). Although prophylactic measures in the case of the infections deal with above merely consist the fishes in cooking or submerging in hot water before eating them, it is exceedingly difficult to carry out such simple measures in face of century old traditions, to which the relatively primitive population clings with great tenacity. There is no one universally applicable method of control. The choice of methods must be dictated by the nature of the environment. the habit and custom of the people. the pattern of transmission and the resources of the country. There must exist a well organized public health infrastructure. Since a control programme is of necessity on a longterm basis and continuity in its implementation is essential. An investigation should be made on the prevalence of the diseases and its relationships to irrigation engineering, freshwater ecology, agricultural methods, hydro-electric schemes, and the development of communities in affected areas. In conclusion, however. the control of clonorchiasis and paragonimiasis in Korea is not an impossible task. A combination of efforts with major emphasis on health education and mass chemotherapy coupled with governmental aid in enforcing legislative public health measures could reduce the diseases. Health education in particular attempts following four things: (a) It supplies a person with enough general knowledge about a disease to make the preventive measures. (b) It makes a person feel sufficiently about the importance of his own health to make him alter his behavior and adopt these preventive measure. (c) It makes him concerned for the health others. (d) It tries to make him feel so strongly about the first three that be supports and even initiates preventive action by the community. Educational efforts should be directed primarily toward school children because it is during the early years that most persons become infected, and also because children are less entrenched in their food habits so that, the educational process should be involved at various levels in successive changes of knowledge, attitude, beha viour, habit and custom of their lives. The most parasitic endemic diseases are related to community diseases. In caring for a sick community. the first stage is to gather epidemiological data, the next is to make inferences from it-to make the community diagnosis. The third is to prescribe community treatment or community health action part of a community health action programme. The community health action is the sum of the steps decided upon to remedy the critical features revealed by the community diagnosis. Action takes various forms; health education is the most important.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.572-582
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• 2006

This survey was conducted from June 2004 to August 2004, through questionnaires given to 432 women aged ranging from 20 to 50 years, who were living in the Seoul metropolitan area. The questionnaires were designed to determine the physique, level of obesity and dieting survey as well as to uncover which diets were in fashion and their satisfaction degree. Dieting-related knowledge and dieting side effects were also investigated. The results were as follows: In dieting survey, as the age increased, dieting for health reason (52.3%) increased, whereas that for aesthetic reasons (32.6%) decreased (p<0.05). The most effective methods of dieting were exercise (50.2%) and diet (45.0%) regimens. In regards to exercise frequency, 46.5% for none, 23.5% for 1-2 times a week, suggesting that most respondents do not practice exercise for dieting purposes (p<0.05). Major source for dieting was shown to be obtained from relative family or friends (31.7%), newspapers or magazines (29.3%) and internet (14.9%). As the age decreased, information from the latter increased, whereas that from TV program (21.2%) decreased (p<0.05). Reasons for excess weight were bad eating habits (39.6%), lack of exercise (38.3%), pregnancy and childbirth (10.6%). In fad dieting, while organic foods and aerobic exercises scored the highest satisfaction degree among diet and exercise regimens, on the other hand, sauna, steam baths and high temperature half-immersion baths scored the highest among surgery and other special therapies. As the age increased, the satisfaction degree for organic foods such as organic vegetable and high functional boiled cooked rice increased (p<0.05). As the age increased, scores on dieting-related knowledge decreased. Side effects of dieting included dizziness 06.2%) fatigue (15.1%) indigestion/constipation (11.1%) physical weakness 00.5%), loss of concentration (7.8%), dry skin (7.4%) loss of motivation (6.7%). The above results showed that attitude toward dieting among adult women varied with age and in light of the well-being trend, organic foods and aerobic exercises scored the highest satisfaction degree through all age.