• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.716-725
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• 2003

In this study, the dietary behaviors, depression rates and nutrient intakes were assessed for elderly females living alone (ELA) and elderly females not living alone (ENLA). The subjects were 140 elderly females (living alone 70; not living alone 70) residing in Bucheon city. Dietary data were obtained using the 24-hr recall method. There were more subjects with low monthly incomes (less than 500,000 won) in the ELA group. The proportion of the ELA group which skipped at least one meal per day was 38.5% and the main reasons given were low appetite and depression. Fewer of the ELA group were observed to have smoking and drinking habits. However, the majority of the ELA smokers smoked more than 6 cigarettes per smoking. The drinking score of the ELA group was also higher than that of the ENLA group. The total score of depression for the ELA group was higher than that of the ENLA group. The total score of nutrition risk index (NRI) of the ELA group (8.09) was also higher than that of the ENLA group (2.31). The dietary assessment using the 24 hr-recall method showed that the ELA group had lower nutrients intakes, and significant differences were shown in the intakes of energy (1137 kcal vs 1275 kcal), animal protein, animal fat, carbohydrates, animal Ca, and animal Fe. There was a positive correlation between the NRI and the depression scores. However a higher NRI was associated with lower intakes for most of the nutrients in the ELA group.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.606-614
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• 2004

This study was conducted to investigate the attitude to various soy foods and to estimate dietary isoflavone intake among Korean adolescents. The survey was carried out by self-administered questionnaire with 800 middle and high school students residing in urban and rural areas and 714 questionnaires were collected: resulting in 89% response rate. The dietary isoflavone intake was estimated by food frequency questionnaire developed for rapid assessment of isoflavone intake. Soybean paste, soybean curd, soy milk, bean sprouts and dambuk were recognized as nutritious and healthy food in order. Dambuk got the lowest score in taste and flavor. Bean sprouts, soybean curd and soybean paste were recognized as familiar food in order. Stuffed rice in fried soybean curd got the highest score and Miso soup got the lowest in preference. More than 50% of the subjects consumed soybean paste stew/soup and soybean curd over twice per week and 12.3% of the subjects consumed soybean over once a day. The estimated daily intake of isoflavones ranged from 0 to 227 mg, and the mean daily isoflavone intake of the subjects was 28.1 mg (16.3 mg genistein and 12.0 mg daidzein) whereas the median value of isoflavone intake was 19.7 mg. There was statistically significant relationship among Kyung Gi Do, Chung cheung Do and Seoul residents in their intake of isoflavone. The highest monthly income group consumed isoflavone more than the other groups. These results suggest that Korean adolescent perceived the soybean dishes as high quality foods but they didn't take much because of difficulty to cook or less chance to eat. Nutrition education program is needed to enhance consuming soy foods for prevention of chronic diseases related to dietary isoflavone intake. More detailed information on easy cook method of soy food is also needed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.559-564
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• 1993

This study was undertaken to develop a computer software program to analyze dietary data in terms of food groups and nutrients using a personal computer compatible with IBM PC 386. this program consisted of three functions. The first function was calculating the food intakes from each food group and evaluating the dietary status by comparing then with the constituted food amounts. The second one was calculating energy and nutrient intakes from each food group and evaluating the status of dietary intake by comparing the nutrient intakes with the recommended dietary allowance. The third function was calculating and evaluating the status of nutrient intakes and the energy composition rate by each meal and snack. The results were displayed in tabular forms and graphical forms on the computer screen.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.746-755
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• 2009

This study was to develop and evaluate a nutrition education program to reduce dietary sodium. The school children (218 boys, 226 girls), from 8 elementary schools in the city of Daegu, Korea, were involved in this study. This research was based on the data from two groups of elementary school children, the "education" group (n = 240), and "no-education" group (n = 204). Educational media and programs were developed to educate the education group for four weeks and were presented on the web (www.saltdown.com). After education, the preference for a non-salty taste in the education group increased 10%, compared with those who preferred a non-salty taste before education. There was a significant change away from a preference for a salty taste and a rise in the mean score for nutrition knowledge and dietary attitude in the education group compared to the no-education group (p < 0.05). This study indicates that school children can reduce their dependency on preference for a salty taste and change their high-salt dietary behavior after the education.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.91-101
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to investigate the compliance and need for diet therapy among diabetics and their caregivers. A total of 625 respondents participated in this survey. Appropriate management for long-term blood glucose control and difficult-to-manage cases appeared to be diet therapy, physical activity, medical treatment and folk remedies, in that order. The most important educational avenues for diet therapy were books, magazines and TV, Most respondents were educated in diet therapy within a year after diagnosis and had practiced diet therapy for over four years. The most common diet therapy Practices were food selection and Quantity control. Of the specific problems in practicing diet therapy, time and labor, taste, and meal planning appeared to be equally difficult factors. The prevailing diet therapy skills were controlling food amounts at breakfast and supper, and selecting food for lunch and refreshments. Respondents practicing both skills were about 20% of the participants; this shows the need to improve the current situation. The nutrients most frequently considered in diet therapy practice were simple sugars (sugar and sweet goods) , total fats and cholesterol. Since the perception of the role of dietary fiber among respondents was very low, nutrition education about the importance of dietary fiber and food sources of dietary fiber was needed. Diabetics seemed to be concerned about diabetic menus. Three difficult problems in planning diabetic menus were daily menu planning, patient's preferences, and the calculation of calories. As a means of nutrition counseling, they preferred interviews. The higher the educational status and the lower the age, the higher the preference was for internet or PC counseling. Therefore, it is necessary to develop nutrition educational programs so that diabetics can obtain practical knowledge of diet therapy. Furthermore, it is also necessary to develop additional means of informing diabetics about menu planning, while still considering Korean dietary behavior.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.248-265
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• 2021

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the dietary behaviors of preschool children using the nutrition quotient for preschoolers (NQ-P) and analyzed the difference in the scores of the children's dietary behaviors in regards to the parents' health consciousness. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The subjects were 257 children aged 3-5 years and their parents residing in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. The questionnaire is composed of demographic characteristics, the NQ-P questions, and health consciousness. All data were statistically analyzed by SPSS program (ver. 25.0) and the statistical differences in variables were evaluated by χ2 test, Fisher's exact test, t-test, 1-way analysis of variance and Tukey's multiple comparison test. RESULTS: There was a significant difference on the intake frequency of processed meat by region and fast foods by age, region, and weight status (P < 0.05). There was also a significant difference in not moving around while eating by weight status and parents' effort to have healthy eating habits by sex (P < 0.05). The mean score of NQ-P of the total subjects was 59.47, which was within the medium-low grade. The mean score of balance was 61.62, and the boys were significantly higher than girls (P < 0.05). As the age of children increased, the mean score of the moderation was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). The scores of NQ-P (P < 0.05), balance (P < 0.01), and environment (P < 0.05) were significantly higher in the high group of parents' health consciousness than the low group. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results of the evaluation by NQ-P, the dietary behaviors of preschoolers residing in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do need to be improved. For improving their eating behavior and nutritional health status, parents and children need customized nutrition education programs based on sex, age, region and weight status of preschool children as well as the degree of parents' health consciousness.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.321-340
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• 2022

Objectives: This study established a practical direction for the prevention and management of metabolic syndrome by evaluating the health status, nutrition intake level, and diet quality according to metabolic syndrome and related drug treatment in Korean adults. Methods: The data from the 2017 KNHANES (Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) was analyzed. The analysis included 2,978 adults, classified into the normal, metabolic syndrome (MetS), metabolic syndrome with medicines (MetS-M), and without medicines (MetS-noM) groups. The nutrient intake, NAR (nutrient adequacy ratio), INQ (index of nutritional quality), and DDS (dietary diversity score) were analyzed. Results: The mean BMI was significantly higher in the MetS group than in the normal group for all subjects. Subjects of the MetS group tended to consume less energy and major nutrients, while males aged 50 ~ 64 and all females showed less intake of nutrients in the MetS-M group. The energy intake ratio was within 55 ~ 65 : 7~ 20 : 15 ~ 30 of KDRI (Korean Dietary Recommended Intake), but the carbohydrate energy ratio of all subjects aged 50 to 64 was over 65%. The NAR of the major nutrients was lower in the MetS-M group, the average INQ was around 0.8, especially the INQ of calcium and vitamin A was less than 1, and the total DDS score was less than 4 points. Conclusions: This study confirmed that the nutrient intake and diet quality differed among subjects diagnosed with metabolic syndrome and managed with medical care. The intakes of energy and many nutrients, the quality of diets, and the diversity of food groups in the MetS-M group were lower than in the normal group. Therefore, these will be an important basis for establishing a specific direction of diet education for preventing and managing metabolic syndrome according to gender, age, metabolic syndrome, and drug treatment.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.628-645
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to evaluate the nutritional status and dietary habits of the elderly using the nutrition quotient for the elderly (NQ-E) and to analyze the differences in the NQ-E according to their levels of oral health. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The survey was administered to 123 elderly people receiving congregate meal services in Seoul. The questionnaire comprised 3 domains: oral health status, general characteristics, and the NQ-E for the elderly. RESULTS: The respondents were divided into 2 groups based on the average score of their levels of oral health (the group with high oral health scores: 4.42 points and the group with low oral health scores: 2.89 points). As a result of evaluating nutritional status using the NQ-E, it was found that the average NQ-E score was 58.7 points, with 46.0 points in the balance domain, 47.0 points in the diversity domain, 72.9 points in the moderation domain, and 61.8 points in the dietary behavior domain. The NQ-E score (62.3 points) of the group with high oral health scores is significantly higher than the NQ-E score (54.7 points) of the group with low oral health scores (P < 0.001). Concerning the NQ domain scores, the elderly with good oral health status had "favorable" results in terms of balance and dietary behavior, and the elderly with poor oral health status had "favorable" results only in terms of balance. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, several dietary areas needed improvement in general. Those with poor oral health conditions urgently needed to improve related factors to minimize the risk of increasing imbalanced nutrition and comorbidities due to insufficient nutrition and undesirable eating habits.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.630-641
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• 2022

Purpose: In this study, we assessed the intake of nutrients and food groups and analyzed the nutrition quotient of obese children in South Korea. The hypothesis was that dietary quality and nutrient intake are related to the body mass index (BMI) of obese children. Methods: The participants included 48 children (20 boys and 28 girls). Based on the guidelines for the age-for-body mass index provided by the Korean National Growth Charts for children and adolescents, the participants were divided into 3 groups: overweight, BMI ≥ 85th percentile; obese, BMI ≥ 95th percentile; severely obese, BMI ≥ 99th percentile. Results: The energy distribution showed that the carbohydrate ratio was significantly higher in the overweight group (p < 0.01), whereas the fat ratio was significantly higher in the obese and severely obese groups (p < 0.05). Thus, in the overweight and obese groups, the percent body fat was negatively associated with the carbohydrate ratio (p < 0.05) but was positively associated with the fat ratio (p < 0.05). The Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) data revealed that the intake levels of protein, vitamin B₁, vitamin B₁₂, and sodium were higher in all groups. Intakes of fiber, calcium, potassium, and magnesium were insufficient in all groups, and the DRI percent for protein was significantly higher in the obese and severely obese groups than in the overweight group. No significant differences were obtained in food group patterns or Nutrition Quotient (NQ) scores among the 3 groups. According to the evaluation results by food record and NQ, a significant difference was obtained in the dietary quality of obese children. Conclusion: We conclude that a higher intake of fat enhances weight gain. Based on the study results, we propose that the guidelines should consider the energy distribution of carbohydrate and fat intake to prevent and control obesity among Korean children.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.779-792
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• 2008

The consumption of a wide variety of food groups is considered one of the key components of nutritional adequacy. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Koreans includes the consumption of a variety of foods from diverse food groups as a component of a normal diet. A survey was conducted to evaluate the relationship between the dietary diversity of food groups and nutrient intake in elderly patients (age 65 and above) at a rural area in Korea (Inje). 296 subjects (111 male and 185 female) were probed in a 3 day 24-recall dietary survey. Subjects were grouped according to food group intake frequency, based on six food groups (grain, meat/fish/legume/egg, vegetable, fat/oil, dairy, fruit). Nutritional quality was evaluated according to the numbers of nutrients under EAR (Estimated Average Requirements), and MAR (mean adequacy ratios). The frequency of elderly subjects consuming a meat/fish/legumes/egg food group less than once per day was 29.4%. The frequency of elderly subjects consuming fat/oil food group less than once per day was 65.8%. The percentage of subjects who did not eat dairy food was 88.8%, and that of subjects who did not eat fruit was 57.5%. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to develop models relating nutritional quality to possible food group intake frequency factors. Using the number of nutrients under EAR as a dependent variable, the meat/fish/legume/egg food group intake frequency explained 9.9% of variance, followed by the grain group, fat/oil group, dairy group, and vegetable and fruit group (Model $R^2$=0.260). For mean nutrient adequacy ratio as a dependent variable, the model $R^2$ was 0.326. The results of this study suggest that a highly varied diet in elderly might be associated with better nutritional quality, as assessed by nutrient intake. Accordingly, dietary guidelines should take into consideration nutritional characteristics in order to improve intake from all major food groups and to provide a variety of foods in the diet.