• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.246-260
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of obesity, dietary habits, and nutritional status by age among low-income women, using data from the fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007~2009). Subjects were 8,356 women aged 20 and over. The subjects were classified into four groups by age. Dietary data from 24-hr recall methods were used to analyze nutritional status. The prevalence of obesity in the 50~64 years age group was significantly higher than those of the other age groups. Among age groups, malnutrition was the highest in the 65-and-over age group. It appears that women in the 20~29 and 65-and-over age groups were the highest nutritional risk. The percentage of carbohydrates in total energy intake was higher and the percentages of protein and fat were lower in the 65-and-over age group than other groups. Frequency of skipping breakfast was lower in women aged 65-and-over, and moderate physical activity significantly decreased with increasing age. Awareness of dietary guidelines was higher in women aged 30~49 years than other groups, whereas it was lower in those aged 65-and-over years. Adherence to dietary guidelines of 'eating a variety of foods from each food group' was significantly lower in women aged 65-and-over years than those of other groups. However adherence to dietary guidelines of 'eating breakfast everyday with a pleasant mind' was significantly lower in women aged 20~29 years than those of other groups. Therefore, this study shows that low income women have various nutritional problems by age group, and we should support a tailored approach to improve their nutritional status.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.107-112
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• 1999

Diet quality index DQI) offers a new way of comparing eating habits across populations and across countries. Nutrients and food consumption data from 100 elderly Korean women aged 65 and older were collected in Seoul or Kyunggi-do, Korea by the 24 hour recall method. Diet quality index (DQI) was computed for 1049 elderly women (65 and older) from the 1994-1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) in the US according to US dietary guidelines, and applied to the diet of elderly Korean women for purposes of comparison. A modified 16-point DQI awarded 2 points each for moderate consumption of fat ($\leq$ 30% energy), saturated fat ($\leq$ 10%), cholesterol ($\leq$ 300 mg/day), sodium ($\leq$ 2400 mg/day), and protein ($\leq$ 100% RDA), adequate intakes of carbohydrate ($\qeq$50% energy) and calcium ($\qeq$ 100% RDA), and plenty of fruits and vegetables ($\qeq$ 5 servings). Criteria were based on US dietary guidelines. Partial scores were given if subjects were close to meeting these cutoff points. Diets with $\leq$ 300 mg cholesterol/day were reported by 97% or the Korean sample and 82% of the American sample, while 90% of the Koreans and 42% of the Americans met the goal of $\leq$ 30% of energy from fat, and 98% of the Koreans and 47% of American met the recommendation of $\leq$ 10% of energy from saturated fat. In contrast, only 8% of the Korean sample met the sodium recommendation of $\leq$ 2400 mg sodium per day, whereas 54% of the American subjects met this goal. The mean DQI scores were 10.1 for the elderly American women and 11.3 for the elderly Korean women. Overall, the elderly Korean diet was more consistent with the US dietary guidelines than the elderly American diet.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.201-214
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• 2020

This study was a qualitative investigation into hemodialysis patients' dietary practices. The purpose of this study was to explore the obstacles and requirements to maintain a recommended diet therapy in hemodialysis patients. Five patients undergoing hemodialysis in the renal chamber of the general hospital were interviewed individually. The interviews were based on an interview guide and analyzed by Giorgi's method of analysis. As a result of this study, five elemental factors and 12 subelemental factors were derived. Derived elements were "difficulty in dietary guidelines", "recognizing necessity of diet therapy", "awareness of importance of diet", "difficulty practicing diet therapy", and "looking for ways to practice diet therapy". Patients not only felt difficulties in practicing dietary guidelines but also recognized the need and importance of diet therapy. Patients seemed to have difficulty practicing meal therapy and eating with their families or others. They were also stressed by the limited selection of dietary components and rapid dietary changes before and after dialysis. However, patients showed a willingness to implement dietary management to improve their quality of life and to practice dietary therapy. In order to improve the practice of dietary management in hemodialysis patients, nutritional education should be focused on long-term dietary habits through continuous education and monitoring, not just one-off education. Moreover, patients should be educated that adherence to dietary control may be less burdensome on their families.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.664-675
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• 2012

This study was conducted to investigate the cross-sectional associations between dietary factors and the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in 12,755 subjects (males 5,146, females 7,609) aged 19 years or above using data from the 4th (2007-2009) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). The prevalence of MetS in Korean adults was 23.6% (males 26.1%, females 20.9%) with the criteria for modified National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III. While males had a higher prevalence of abdominal obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and high blood pressure than females, the prevalence of low HDL-cholesterol level was higher in females than in males. Among dietary guidelines, the response of 'yes' for asking practice of 'avoiding salty foods', and 'eating moderately and increasing physical activity for healthy weight' were significantly associated with the decreased risk of MetS in both males and in females. Especially, the risk of MetS was significantly lower in the subjects that responded the practice of all items of Korean Dietary Guidelines. Significantly negative associations with MetS were also found in the responding for practice of 'limiting consumption of alcoholic beverages' in males, and taking dietary supplements in females. Skipping breakfast was positively associated with the risk of MetS. In conclusion, dietary behaviors such as having breakfast, practice of dietary guidelines, and food consumption in moderation could modify the prevalence of MetS, and our findings could be useful for establishing guidelines for preventing MetS.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.177-191
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• 2022

Objectives: Recent epidemiological data reported that young adults in their 20 ~ 30s are a vulnerable population with unhealthy dietary practices and a few signs of deteriorated health indicators. However, there are no dietary guidelines that are specifically developed for the young adult population. This study introduces some data collection tools that are mostly used in the service design field, and demonstrates how these tools can be used in nutrition research for developing dietary guidelines for specific target groups. Methods: To understand the context of food choices among young people, 39 people were enrolled to complete a probes booklet. Thematic analysis and word cloud were performed to capture the main themes from the probes and a persona was developed based on the findings. Results: Data from the probes enabled us to grasp the various contextual meanings of eating practices among young people. Most participants understand what a healthy diet is and often have a willingness to practice it. However, there were very few participants who were following the practices. We created four types of persona for developing dietary guidelines: healthy eating, emotional eating, convenient eating, and trendy eating. Conclusions: Probes and persona were used in order to understand the lives of young adults and develop targeted messages. We hope that this introduction will be helpful to researchers who are looking for new ways of understanding their target population in the field of community nutrition.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to investigate nutritional knowledge, practice of eating behavior guidelines, and problematic dietary habits in working high school students in comparison with non-working high school students. A survey questionnaire was formulated to obtain information on demographic variables, body size, part-time jobs, nutritional knowledge, practice of eating behavior guidelines, and dietary habits. The developed questionnaire was given out to 515 students attending a vocational high school in Yongin, Gyeonggi-Do. Those who had been working 5 hours or more per day for at least a month at the time of survey administration were defined as working students for this study. Proportions of working students were similar between male and female students (i.e. 49.5% for male, 50.5% for female). No significant difference was found in scores of nutritional knowledge between working ($8.43{\pm}2.29$) and non-working students ($8.60{\pm}2.19$). However, some dietary habits were found to be dependent on working status. While approximately 43% of non-working students reported skipping a meal, about 57% of working students did so (p<0.01). The proportion of students with any drinking experience was significantly higher among working students (92%) compared to non-working students (80%) (p<0.001). Working students were found to drink alcoholic beverages more often than non-working students (p<0.001). The mean score of practice of eating behavior guidelines was lower in working students than non-working students. The magnitude of this difference was modest ($51.33{\pm}0.63$ in working students, $53.40{\pm}0.51$ in non-working students), but reached statistical significance (p<0.01). Based on the findings from this study, it is suggested that specific behavior-oriented messages to improve certain problematic dietary habits need to be directed toward working high school students.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.260-271
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of obesity has been increasing in Korean children. As an unhealthy diet is known as one of the major determinants of childhood obesity, assessing and monitoring dietary fat intake of children is needed. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This analysis included 9,998 children aged 3-11 yrs from the 2007-2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Dietary data were obtained from a single 24-h dietary recall. Intakes of total fat and fatty acids, including saturated fatty acid (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), n-3 fatty acid (n-3 FA), and n-6 fatty acid (n-6 FA) were evaluated as the absolute amount (g) and proportion of energy from each fatty acid (% of energy). The total fat and SFA intake were also assessed according to compliance with dietary guidelines. Linear trends in the dietary fats intake across the survey period were tested using multiple regression models. RESULTS: Total fat intake significantly increased from 38.5g (20.3% of energy) to 43.4g (23.3% of energy) from 2007 to 2017. This increase was mainly accounted for the increases in intakes of SFA (7.2% to 8.4% of energy) and MUFA (6.2% to 7.5% of energy). PUFA intake increased from 4.4 to 4.7% of energy during the 11-yrs period: from 0.57 to 0.63% of energy for n-3 FA and from 3.8 to 4.1% of energy for n-6 FA. The proportions of children who consumed amounts exceeding the dietary guidelines for total fat and SFA significantly increased from 2007 to 2017, with increases from 9.8% to 17.4% for total fat and from 36.9% to 50.9% for SFA. CONCLUSIONS: Prominent increasing trends in the consumption of total fat and SFA but tiny change in n-3 FA intake were observed in Korean children. The healthy intake of dietary fats should be emphasized in this population.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.49-58
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• 2013

The most critical point in the assessment of adherence to dietary guidelines is the development of a practical definition for adherence, such as a dietary pattern score. The purpose of this study was to develop the Korean Diet Score (KDS) based on the Korean Food Balance Wheel and to examine the association of KDS with various lifestyle characteristics and biochemical factors. The dietary data of 5,320 subjects from the 4th Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey were used for the final analysis. The food guide was composed of six food group categories; 'grain dishes', 'fish and meat dishes', 'vegetable dishes', 'fruits', 'milk' and 'oils and sugars'. Based on the recommended serving numbers for each group, the scores measuring adherence to this food guide were calculated from the dietary information from the 24-hour dietary recall questionnaire, and then its correlation with various characteristics was assessed. KDS was significantly associated with several clinical, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors as well as diagnosed disease history. The higher quintile group of KDS showed a significantly lower level in fasting blood glucose, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, current smoking and drinking as well as higher leisure time activity, house income and education. Furthermore, the KDS quintile group of women was inversely associated with hypertension, osteoporosis and diabetes. A higher KDS quintile was characterized with a higher intake of several critical nutrients, such as Ca, Fe and vitamins as well as a desirable nutrition balance such as the ratio of macronutrients. Our results demonstrate that KDS is a beneficial tool in assessing the adherence to a healthy diet based on the Korean dietary guidelines. We suggest that KDS could be a useful indicator for evaluating the dietary balance of the Korean population.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.3 no.5
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• pp.748-758
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• 1998

The Recommended Dietary Allowances(RDAs, Nutrient standards), dietary guidelines, and food guides, each define aspects for a healthy diet in different ways. The RDA and food guide for Koreans were first established in 1962 by the Food and Nutrition Committee of the Korea FAO Association. The committee released the RDA and suggested ways to intake the recommended nutrients. Every five years, the committee has added more data and released revisions. The latest edition of the RDA is the 6th revision. In the beginning, the concept of basic food groups was emphasized as basic data for planning means based on RDA. In the 5th revision, the basic food groups and dietary guideline for public health from the Ministry of Health and Welfairs(December, 1990) suggests that, 1) Eat a variety of foods with a recommended fat intake equaling or less than 20% of total calories ; 2) Maintain ideal body weight and prevent obesity ; 3) Eat foods low in salt. Salt intake should not exceed 10g ; 4) Do not drink too much ; 5) Eat regularly and enjoy meals. After these guidelines were established, the first nutritonal education efforts guidelines were developed in 1984. Despite broad possibilities for application, they had limited use, mainly as a nutritional assessment and food balance sheet preparation. They were not well utilized in public nutritional education and nutritonal policy through the media because of the weakness of the government's food and nutriton policy. Also a lack of administrative support and dietitians in the health department and administrative organizations was partly to blame. In regard to public health and nutrition status, life expectancy has increased 10 years since the 70's and the elderly population increased threefold in 1995 compared to 1960. The common causes of death in 1996 by 19 Chapters classification, were first disease of the circulatory system ; the second, neoplasms ; the third, external causes fo mortality ; the forth, diseases of the digestive system ; and the fifth, respiratory system diseases, In food intake, grain and complex starch intake has decreased while fruit and animal foods have considerably increased. Therefore, energy from carbohydrates has decreased while energy from protein and fat has increased. Energy intakes from protein, fat and carbohydrates were respectively 12.5, 7.2 and 80.3% in 1969 but 16.1, 19.1 and 64.8% in 1995. 62.9% of the householes had the fat energy less than 20%, while 37.1% had the fat energy above 20%. The only intakes of vitamin A and calcium were below RDA levles. Therefore, nationwide attention should be focused on public nutriton education and public activities with supplementation of the RDAs, according to the food guide and the dietary guideline.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.509-522
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• 2023

Objectives: This study is intended to develop a curriculum for kindergarten food and nutrition education aimed at preschool children, reflecting government policy and meeting the demands of preschool settings. Methods: Existing educational materials were analyzed, and key elements of the 2019 Revised Nuri Curriculum ("Nuri Curriculum") and Guidelines for Nutrition and Food Education in Kindergartens, Elementary, Middle, and High Schools ("Guidelines") were examined as foundational information for developing the curriculum for food and nutrition education. Results: Basing ourselves on the five domains of the Nuri Curriculum, "Physical Activity and Health," "Communication," "Social Relationships," "Art Experience," and "Natural Science Inquiry," we integrated three areas from the Guidelines, namely "Dietary Habits and Health," "Dietary Habits and Safety," and "Dietary Habits and Culture," to structure the curriculum for kindergarten food and nutrition education. Three specific domains, "Nutrition and Health," "Food and Culture," and "Safe Dietary Practices," were tailored for preschool children, each comprising core concepts, content elements, and educational materials. In the "Nutrition and Health" domain, core concepts such as "nutrition" were addressed through content elements such as "balanced eating" and "vegetables and fruit," while "health" included elements such as "eating regularly" and "nutrients for disease prevention," each with two educational content components. The "Food and Culture" domain focused on "food" with content on "local foods (vegetable-garden experience)" and "food culture" with content on "our dining table (rice and side dishes)," "our agricultural products," "global cuisine (multiculture)," and "considerate dietary practices," each with four educational content components. The "Safe Dietary Practices" domain included core concepts such as "hygiene" with content on "hand-washing habits" and "food poisoning management," and "safety" with content on "food labeling." Conclusions: The systematized curriculum for kindergarten food and nutrition education aligns with the Nuri Curriculum and is interconnected with the Guidelines. This curriculum can be used as foundational material for developing educational resources tailored to the characteristics of preschoolers, contributing to effective implementation in early childhood education.