• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.104-117
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• 2019

Purpose: This study examined dietary and health characteristics of the young-old and the old-old by food security status. Methods: The study used data from the $6^{th}$ (2013 ~ 2015) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The study subjects consisted of 3,948 subjects, of whom 2,445 were the young-old (aged 65 to 74 years) and 1,503 were the old-old (aged 75 years and over). Food security status was evaluated using an 18-item questionnaire. Energy intake, nutrient densities, and prevalence of insufficient nutrient intake were assessed. Food intake was evaluated in terms of the number of food group servings. Dietary behaviors and health status were also assessed. Results: The prevalence of food insecurity among the young-old and the old-old was 10.0% and 11.6%, respectively. Among the young-old, the food insecure group had a significantly higher level of prevalence of insufficient intake for all the nutrients (protein, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorous, and iron) assessed in this study compared with the food secure group. In case of the old-old, significant differences were found only for four nutrients (protein, riboflavin, niacin, and phosphorus) in the prevalence of insufficient nutrient intake between the food secure and the food insecure groups. Kinds of food groups with significantly different numbers of servings by food security status were dissimilar between the two age groups. In both the age groups, the food insecure group consumed a significantly lower number of servings in meat fish eggs legumes and fruits than the food secure group; grains and vegetables intake in the young-old and oils sweets intake in the old-old differed in the number of servings by food security status. Among the young-old, the prevalence of chewing difficulties in the food insecure group was significantly higher than that of the food secure group, while among the old-old, no significant differences were found by food security status. Conclusion: Dietary and health characteristics of the young-old and the old-old differed by food security status. Such differences were more apparent in the young-old than the old-old. Therefore, it is suggested that food and nutrition assistant programs should be designed with consideration of the differences.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.247-263
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• 2023

Purpose: This study was conducted to update the Nutrition Quotient for Adolescents (NQ-A), which is used to assess the overall dietary quality and food behavior among Korean adolescents. Methods: The first 30 candidate items of the measurable eating behavior checklist were obtained based on a previous NQ-A checklist, the results of the seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, national nutrition policies and dietary guidelines, and literature reviews. A total of 100 middle and high school students residing in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province participated in a pilot study using the 25-item checklist. Factor analysis and frequency analysis were conducted to determine if the checklist items were organized properly and whether the responses to each item were distributed adequately, respectively. As a result, 22 checklist items were selected for the nationwide survey, which was applied to 1,000 adolescent subjects with stratified sampling from 6 metropolitan cities. The construct validity of the updated NQ-A 2021 was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. Results: Twenty checklist items were determined for the final NQ-A 2021. The items were composed of three factors: balance (8 items), moderation (9 items), and practice (3 items). The standardized path coefficients were used as the weights of items to determine the nutrition quotients. NQ-A 2021 and 3-factor scores were calculated according to the weights of questionnaire items. The weight for each of the 3 factors was determined as follows: balance, 0.15; moderation, 0.30; and practice, 0.55. Conclusion: The updated NQ-A 2021 is a useful instrument for easily and quickly evaluating the dietary qualities and eating behaviors of Korean adolescents.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.320-335
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• 2024

Purpose: This study examined the impact of adolescents' dietary behavior on their quality of life using the nutrition quotient for adolescents (NQ-A) for some high school students in Seoul. Methods: The subjects were 176 high school students living in Seoul. The NQ-A was used to assess the dietary quality, and the quality of life was assessed by categorizing it into life satisfaction, environment, health, participation and safety, leisure activities, and emotional factors using survey questions validated through previous studies. Results: The NQ score of the survey subjects was 49.30 points. Based on the NQ scores, 7.4%, 46.6%, and 46.0% of participants were categorized as the 'high', 'medium', and 'low' groups, respectively. The total NQ score and balance, diversity, and practice factor scores were positively correlated with life satisfaction, environment, health, participation and safety, and leisure activities among the quality of life subscales. Regression analysis showed that the total NQ score was positively associated with life satisfaction, health, leisure activities, and emotions; the moderation factor was negatively associated with life satisfaction and health. The balance factor was positively associated with the environmental factor. The practice factor was positively associated with health, leisure activities, and emotions, and the environment factor was negatively associated with emotions. Conclusion: These results show that adolescents' quality of life is closely related to their diet, so it is necessary to maintain a balanced and varied food intake and desirable eating behaviors to improve adolescents' quality of life. Furthermore, adolescents' quality of life is influenced by other factors. Therefore, further research is needed to assess the quality of life, including dietary factors, as well as physical, emotional, psychological, and social development.