• 대한지역사회영양학회지
• /
• 제26권1호
• /
• pp.23-36
• /
• 2021

Objectives: This study sought to assess the prevalence and duration of weight-control or health functional food use, associated weight-control behavior, perception, and knowledge among university students. Methods: The subjects were 442 university students in Cheonju, Korea, and data was collected by a self-administered questionnaire. Both χ2 and t-tests were conducted for categorical and mean comparisons. Results: An estimated 62.7% (female 69.0%, male 54.8%) had ever attempted weight-control. Among these, an estimated 59.2% of females and 38.9% of males had used weight-control or health functional foods with significant gender difference. The weight-control foods commonly used included chicken breast, protein powder, low-fat milk and soymilk, and meal replacement drinks, while garcinia cambogia extract and green tea extract were frequently used as health functional foods. One of 10 (10.3%) consumers of weight-control foods reported ≥ 7 months use, with less frequent long-term consumption of health functional foods (4.2%). The average degree of satisfaction was 3.24 ± 0.92 for weight-control foods and 2.72 ± 0.97 for health functional foods on a 5-point scale, meaning 'slightly satisfied' and 'slightly dissatisfied', respectively. Females or students with an experience of weight-control reported poorer perceptions of their health and body image as well as a higher need for weight control. Besides, both male and female subjects felt a high need for correct information regarding weight-control methods. Conclusions: Our results provide a better understanding of the characteristics associated with the use of weight-control or health functional foods among university students and will be useful in developing a nutrition education program by incorporating correct body image, knowledge, and practical yet desirable practices for weight control.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• 제45권2호
• /
• pp.170-180
• /
• 2012

This study was conducted to identify factors influencing Health/Functional Foods (HFFs) consumption for women in their 20's based on social cognitive theory. A total of 295 subjects participated in this study and were divided into two groups based on the experience of HFF use. This study compared their personal, environmental and behavioral factors which influence the consumption of HFFs. With regard to personal factors, the expected effectiveness for HFFs was higher in the user group than the nonuser group. For the environmental factors, the subjects' use of HFFs was critically affected by the use of HFFs regarding the family members. In terms of behavioral factors, there were no significant differences between the two groups. For the user group, it was observed that their use of HFFs was closely related to when their interests for health was high and the family's use of HFF was high. On the other hands, for the nonuser group, there were less people around them using HFFs than the user group and they did not feel that HFFs were necessary. Since non-experts including parents and close acquaintances critically affected the HFF ingestion of the subjects, it is essential to educate all citizens as well as HFFs consumers about HFFs information.

• Nutritional Sciences
• /
• 제4권2호
• /
• pp.104-111
• /
• 2001

The Purpose of this study was to investigate the dietary intake of nutrients and the use of vitamin and mineral supplements by Korean college students attending Web class and the socioeconomic, dietary and health-related factors involved. The subjects were 137 male and 115 female students amending a health and nutrition-related Web class at a cycler university. This cross-sectional survey was conducted by self-administered questionnaire and the data were analyzed by SAS and SPSS PC package programs. Nutrient intake data collected using three-day recall method were analyzed by the Computer Aided Nutritional Analysis Program. Average intake by male students of most nutrients except energy, vitamin B$_2$ and calcium and intake by female students of those except energy, vitamin $B_2$, calcium and iron was higher than Korean RDA. Nutrient intake of male students was significantly influenced by the mother s job, skipping meals, exercise, vitamin and mineral supplement use, flood supplement use and self-evaluated anemia. Skipping meals and flood supplement use significantly influenced the nutrient intake of female students. A total of 47.4% of male students and 53.9% of female students were vitamin and mineral supplement users. In female students, socioeconomic characteristics such as the father s education level and household income were significantly different between vitamin and mineral supplement users and non-users. In both male and female students, there were significant differences in cross analysis between vitamin and mineral supplement use and flood supplement use. As for the self-reported health status of male and female students, vitamin and mineral supplement users perceived their health status to be worse compared to non-users. Therefore, nutrition education via the Internet is necessary in order to encourage college students to practice optimal nutrition strategies, including maintaining well-balanced diets by choosing various floods wisely.

• 대한예방한의학회지
• /
• 제21권2호
• /
• pp.117-126
• /
• 2017

Objectives : The use of health functional foods is gradually increasing. On the other hand, the use of the Korean herbal medicine is gradually decreasing. Especially children are known to have a high percentage of taking a health functional food. This study was designed to compare the use of health functional food with the reason for taking the Korean herbal medicine. Methods : The participants were 453 parents who have kids age between 3 to 6 years old from day care center in Wonju and Chungju. The questionnaire consisted of 17 questions and the survey was conducted by self-entry method. This study analyzed 374 participants' questionnaires who agreed to the survey. Results : The percentages of children's health functional food intake experience were 82.9% and they usually bought products which contain lactic acid bacteria(55.6%). The reason for consuming health functional food was to strengthen the immune system and enhance the physical strength. Most of the participants purchased health functional food from pharmacy through inaccurate information such as the internet. The percentages of children's health functional food preference were 58.5% because it is easy to take. The percentages of children's herbal medicine preference were 41.7%. There are inconveniences of taking herbal medicine because of taste and smell(68.8%). Conclusions : Therefore, it is necessary to change the formulation of the herbal medicine and increase convenience for use of the herbal medicine to preschooler(3-6 years old). In additionary, it is necessary to supply accurate and up to date information of herbal medicine taking.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• 제11권3호
• /
• pp.240-246
• /
• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Folic acid supplementation before pregnancy is known to significantly reduce the risk of having a baby with neural tube defects (NTDs). Therefore, it is important for women to be aware of the effects of folic acid supplementation before pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the awareness and preconceptional use of folic acid and to assess the current knowledge about folic acid among low-income pregnant women in Korea. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2012. Five hundred pregnant women were selected from the waiting list for the Nutriplus program implemented in public health centers using a multistage clustered probability sampling design. Data from 439 women were analyzed after excluding ones with incomplete answers. RESULTS: Among women who responded to the questionnaire, 65.6% had heard of folic acid before pregnancy, and 26.4% reported on the preconceptional use of folic acid. Women with a university degree or higher education were more likely to be aware of folic acid and to take folic acid in the preconception period. In a multivariate logistic regression, when age, education level, household income, employment status, gravidity, parity, and folic acid awareness were included in the model, folic acid awareness was a strong predictor of preconceptional folic acid use. As of interview, 85.4% and 77.7% of women were aware of the NTD-preventive role of folic acid and the appropriate time to take folic acid, respectively. The main sources of information on folic acid were healthcare professionals (41.2%), friends and family members (31.2%), and the media (26.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that public health strategies are needed to increase the preconceptional use of folic acid among Korean women.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• /
• 제35권
• /
• pp.53.1-53.15
• /
• 2023

Background: Plastics are high-molecular-weight materials composed of long carbon chains. They are prevalent in daily life, present in various items such as food containers and microwavable packaging. Phthalates, an additive used to enhance their flexibility, are endocrine-disrupting chemicals. We utilized the data from the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) cycle 3, representing the general South Korean population, to investigate the relationship between the use of plastics in refrigerator food storage and phthalate exposure. Methods: We assessed 3,333 adult participants (aged ≥ 19 years) including 1,526 men and 1,807 women, using data from KoNEHS cycle 3. Using the 75th percentile concentration, urine phthalate metabolites were categorized into high and low-concentration groups. χ² test was conducted to analyze variations in the distribution of each variable, considering sociodemographic factors, health-related factors, food intake, the use of plastics, and the concentration of urine phthalate metabolites as the variables. To calculate odds ratios (ORs) for the high-concentration group of urine phthalate metabolites based on the use of plastics in refrigerator food storage, logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results: In men, the use of plastics in refrigerator food storage had significantly higher adjusted ORs compared to those using the others. The adjusted ORs were calculated as follows: mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP) had an OR of 1.35 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05-1.72), mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) had an OR of 1.48 (95% CI: 1.16-1.88), mono-(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MECPP) had an OR of 1.32 (95% CI: 1.04-1.66), ∑di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (∑DEHP) had an OR of 1.37 (95% CI: 1.08-1.74) and mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP) had an OR of 1.44 (95% CI: 1.13-1.84). Conclusion: The concentrations of urine phthalate metabolites (MEHHP, MEOHP, MECPP, ∑DEHP, and MnBP) were significantly higher in men who used plastics in refrigerator food storage compared to those using the others.

• 대한본초학회지
• /
• 제27권2호
• /
• pp.25-29
• /
• 2012

Objectives : This article reviews a solution preventing the illegal distribution of herbal medicine in common use for food and medicine and risks on public health by conducting safety management of food and medicine. Also, this article would like to contribute to improvement of public health treating diseases in compliance with accurate diagnosis and prescription of Oriental Medicine Doctor("OMD")'s. Methods : An approach in this research can be categorized into two : first, to examine the current administrative situation and problems of herbal medicine in common use for food and medicine based on policy documents of Ministry of Health and Welfare and Korea Food and Drug Adminstration("KFDA") and academic articles of the herbal medicine;second, to find reasonable administrative solutions to solve the problems. Solutions : A solution is to strengthen the management level of herbal medicine in common use for food and medicine by selecting 117 items as target items requiring concentrated management. In case herbal medicine is imported for food, KFDA strengthens the quality management level of herbal medicine by making use of inspection frequency at random, collecting and verifying herbal medicine on the market. However, KFDA decides to maintain current different quality specification system of food and medicine reflecting a civil complaint that quality specification of food and medicine should separately managed according to the purpose of use. Herbal medicine as medicine that is functioned as treating diseases and alleviating symptoms, unlike herbal medicine for food, can cure all kinds of diseases by recovering inner balance of human body, making use of other properties of herbal medicine. Medicine has its own properties. If a doctor uses properties of medicine appropriately, he cures diseases. If a doctor uses herbal medicine inappropriately. he may damage human body. Thus, whether side effects of medicine depend on a doctor who uses herbal medicine. Conclusions : All herbal medicine will be supplied into the market after strict safety control of manufacturers of herbal medicine according to the revised Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, beginning in April, 2012. Thus, people can take safer and more reliable herbal medicine through strengthening safety management of herbal medicine and improving quality and transparency in the distribution system. Herbal medicine should appropriately be prescribed by licensed OMD because herbal medicine is used to treat diseases and alleviate symptoms, unlike herbal medicine for food.

• 대한지역사회영양학회지
• /
• 제22권4호
• /
• pp.347-355
• /
• 2017

Objectives: Although dietary supplements use in Korea has been rapidly increasing and women are more likely to take dietary supplements more than men, only a few studies have been conducted to investigate factors contributing to gender differences in dietary supplement use in the Korean population. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of dietary supplement use and also identify gender-specific key factors that contribute to it using the data of the 4th KNHANES. Methods: Subjects were divided into user and non-user groups according to the answer given to the question that asked whether they had used any dietary supplement for more than 2 weeks on a regular basis during the previous year. Factors related to dietary supplement use were examined by general characteristics, health behavior and eating behavior. Results: Prevalence of dietary supplement use was 13.6% for men and 20.6% for women. Users were more likely to be middle-aged, have higher income and education, have a spouse, or reside in dong areas in both men and women. Regarding health behaviors, men with desirable lifestyle behavior were more likely to take dietary supplements, while men who smoked were less likely to take dietary supplements. Regarding disease history, both men and women with a current disease had higher odds of taking supplements. With regard to dietary behavior, frequent eating out and nutrition attitude were associated with higher odds of taking supplements in both men and in women. Conclusions: Health or dietary behavior related factors that were associated with taking supplements differed by gender. These findings can be useful for planning gender-specific dietary education and health programs.

• 대한지역사회영양학회지
• /
• 제13권5호
• /
• pp.723-732
• /
• 2008

The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of diet related factors, such as diet behaviors, food intake, and nutrient intakes, on self-rated health (SRH). Also, in order to determine fitness of classification for SRH reflecting diet related factors, this study surveyed older adults in Gyeongnam province. A total of 101 responses were collected using the interview survey method. The self- rated health of rural older adults was poor as reported by 49.5%. The level of self-rated health was found to be related to the frequencies of coffee and snack, use of sugar and vegetable in diet, the amount of total food intake, and cholesterol intake. The result of discriminant analysis, which was conducted to assess the adequacy of SRH classification and to determine the class of observation, showed frequency of coffee and use of vegetable in diet among 47 variables as predictive variables for explaining SRH. The fitness of self-rated health function was high to 47.7%. Therefore, diet-related factors were ascertained to be important variables to predict SRH.

• 한국식생활문화학회지
• /
• 제10권3호
• /
• pp.185-200
• /
• 1995

In this survey, we investigated the way of thinking about meal management of housewives including the sincerity to meal preparation, the eating practices and cronic degenerative diseases related dietary behaviors, and studied the effects of above factors on the real food intakes. We also investigated the trends of health-foods and nutrient supplements usage. The results obtained from 506 housewives in Seoul were summarized as follows. Although our subjects prepared their meals habitually without special concern, they did not prefer the use of convenient foods. The food prefrence of housewivess who had more child and refered higher life status was similar with other family members. The dietary attitudes were good in large family, the higher income and the more child group. The highly educated group skipped breakfast more frequently. The mealmanagers with better education career and good living status considered for the restriction of salty foods, sweet foods, animal fats and pungent foods, and for the nutritionally balanced diet. The high income group showed great concerns about weight gain at meal times. The nutritional qualities expressed by the frequency of food group intakes were high in the better educated and living status groups, and their eating frequencies of animal protein foods and calcium sources were significantly high. Mealmanagers who had no job intaked vegetable oils through frying foods frequently. The use of health-foods and nutrient supplements was influenced by age, educational and economic level and self-estimated living status, but the trends in prevalence of both were not consistent. Health-foods were prefered by the groups of high educational career, affluent income and advanced living status, and low educational career, low income and low living status groups favored the nutrient supplements. The restrictive intake of animal fat and the use of health-food were positively correlated, which seemed that the subjects used health-foods as supplements in compensation for nutritional unbalance caused by the avoidance of animal protein foods.