• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.91-102
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• 2002

A survey of how dietary patterns and living habits were related to individual health status was undertaken amongst the elderly in Jeon-ju the results were analyzed in order to collect information which would be useful in preventing chronic diseases and promoting health in the general population. Two hundred and thirty elderly people, 73 min (31.7%) and 157 women (68.3%) from the colleges and households in the Jeon-ju area, were studied in truly and August, 1999. Average scores for men and women, respectively, in nutrition-related questions were as follows: 4.98 $\pm$ 0.24 and 5.24 $\pm$ 0.13 in a nutrition knowledge test (maximum score= 10), 25.92 $\pm$ 0.39 and 26.04 $\pm$ 0.26 for nutrition attitudes (maximum=50), and 11.25 $\pm$ 0.15 and 10.70 $\pm$ 0.12 for dietary habits (maximum= 15). The percentages of smokers and drinkers in the sample were 23.3% and 31.5% among men, and 3.2% and 10.8% among women, respectively, while those who took regular exercise were 67.1% among men and 34.8% among women. Average scores of clinical symptoms for men and women were 27.62 $\pm$ 0.62 and 33.36 $\pm$ 0.47, respectively. Analysis was carried out on the effects of individual dietary patterns and lifestyles on current health status in a healthy group (below the 25 percentile in clinical symptom scores) and an unhealthy group (above the 75 percentile in clinical symptom scores). The results show that the healthy elderly group had relatively good nutrition knowledge, nutrition attitudes, and dietary patterns, ate with family, took nutrition supplements and snacks, and did not smoke. The most healthy group ate out once a month, drank small quantities of alcohol occasionally, and exercised once or twice a week. We believe that the results of this study will be helpful in developing or coordinating plans or programs f)r improving the health of elderly people.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.185-192
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• 2006

This study was performed to investigate factors affecting sensitivity and preference for salty tastes of Korean adult females. Sensitivity and preference for salty tastes were determined as detection threshold concentration of NaCl solution and the optimally-preferred NaCl concentration of the bean sprout soup, respectively. A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain the information regarding general characteristics, self diagnosis of stress, health-related lifestyle practices, dietary habits and food preferences. Dietary intake using 24-hours recall and blood pressure were measured. Salty taste detection thresholds and optimally-preferred NaCl concentrations were 0.0197% and 0.357%, respectively. There was a significant positive correlation between the optimally-preferred salt concentration and age, despite no significant correlation between either sensitivity or preference for salty taste and sodium intake, which was 3,605mg/day. Those who had bread or cereal with milk as breakfast instead of a traditional Korean meal and those who preferred jjigae to soup had significantly higher NaCl preferences for bean sprout soup. Going to bed after midnight and skipping meals (${\geq}3/week$) decreased salty taste sensitivity without reaching statistical significance. Self awareness of one's own health, recent weight changes, family history of hypertension, sleep quality, getting-up time, rate of eating and other food preferences did not affect either perception. Stress level, TV watching, BMI and sodium intake did not have significant correlation to sensitivity or preference. Further research including a large number of well-controlled subjects and more accurate measurement of sodium intake should be directed to find other factors affecting salt preference and sensitivity in order to decrease Na intake and related diseases.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.181-199
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• 2010

As rapid progress of population aging and strong interest in health, the demand for new healthcare service is increasing. Until now healthcare service has provided post treatment by face-to-face manner. But according to related researches, proactive treatment is resulted to be more effective for preventing diseases. Particularly, the existing healthcare services have limitations in preventing and managing metabolic syndrome such a lifestyle disease, because the cause of metabolic syndrome is related to life habit. As the advent of ubiquitous technology, patients with the metabolic syndrome can improve life habit such as poor eating habits and physical inactivity without the constraints of time and space through u-healthcare service. Therefore, lots of researches for u-healthcare service focus on providing the personalized healthcare service for preventing and managing metabolic syndrome. For example, Kim et al.(2010) have proposed a healthcare model for providing the customized calories and rates of nutrition factors by analyzing the user's preference in foods. Lee et al.(2010) have suggested the customized diet recommendation service considering the basic information, vital signs, family history of diseases and food preferences to prevent and manage coronary heart disease. And, Kim and Han(2004) have demonstrated that the web-based nutrition counseling has effects on food intake and lipids of patients with hyperlipidemia. However, the existing researches for u-healthcare service focus on providing the predefined one-way u-healthcare service. Thus, users have a tendency to easily lose interest in improving life habit. To solve such a problem of u-healthcare service, this research suggests a u-healthcare recommender system which is based on collaborative filtering principle and social network. This research follows the principle of collaborative filtering, but preserves local networks (consisting of small group of similar neighbors) for target users to recommend context aware healthcare services. Our research is consisted of the following five steps. In the first step, user profile is created using the usage history data for improvement in life habit. And then, a set of users known as neighbors is formed by the degree of similarity between the users, which is calculated by Pearson correlation coefficient. In the second step, the target user obtains service information from his/her neighbors. In the third step, recommendation list of top-N service is generated for the target user. Making the list, we use the multi-filtering based on user's psychological context information and body mass index (BMI) information for the detailed recommendation. In the fourth step, the personal information, which is the history of the usage service, is updated when the target user uses the recommended service. In the final step, a social network is reformed to continually provide qualified recommendation. For example, the neighbors may be excluded from the social network if the target user doesn't like the recommendation list received from them. That is, this step updates each user's neighbors locally, so maintains the updated local neighbors always to give context aware recommendation in real time. The characteristics of our research as follows. First, we develop the u-healthcare recommender system for improving life habit such as poor eating habits and physical inactivity. Second, the proposed recommender system uses autonomous collaboration, which enables users to prevent dropping and not to lose user's interest in improving life habit. Third, the reformation of the social network is automated to maintain the quality of recommendation. Finally, this research has implemented a mobile prototype system using JAVA and Microsoft Access2007 to recommend the prescribed foods and exercises for chronic disease prevention, which are provided by A university medical center. This research intends to prevent diseases such as chronic illnesses and to improve user's lifestyle through providing context aware and personalized food and exercise services with the help of similar users'experience and knowledge. We expect that the user of this system can improve their life habit with the help of handheld mobile smart phone, because it uses autonomous collaboration to arouse interest in healthcare.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.173-184
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• 2003

Objective : This study was carried out to develop a semi-quantitative food frequency Questionnaire (SQFFQ) for estimating average dietary intake to determine the risk factor for lifestyle-related diseases in a conjoint cohort study. Design : We developed an SQFFQ for genomic epidemiological studies based on the data in the'98 Korea Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A subset of data on informative food items was collected using the 24-hr recall method with 2,714 adults aged 40 or older living in middle-sized cities or in rural areas in Korea. The cumulative percent contribution and cumulative multiple regression coefficients of 17 nutrients (energy, fat, carbohydrate, protein, fiber, iron, potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin A, retinol, $\beta$-carotene, vitamin $B_1$, vitamin $B_2$, niacin and vitamin C) of each food were computed. Results : Two hundred and forty-nine foods, which were selected based on their 0.9 cumulative percent contribution, and 254 foods, which were selected based on their 0.9 cumulative multiple regression coefficients, respectively, were grouped into 97 food groups according to their nutrient contents. Several popular Korean foods, which were missing from the list due to the seasonality of the survey, were included. The portion sizes were derived from the same data set. The SQFFQ covered 84.8 percent of the intake of 17 nutrients in the one day diet record data of our 326 cohort study subjects. Conclusions . The final list included 103 food items. The foods list in the SQFFQ described herein accounted for 84.8 percent of the average intake of 17 nutrients. Therefore, the list could be used for the assessment of the baseline dietary intakes of the conjoint cohort studies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.2643-2648
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• 2016

Background: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels are lower in Japanese compared with Western subjects. Since it is uncertain whether hsCRP is a potent predictor of mortality at low CRP concentrations, the present study examined associations with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a large population of Japanese. Materials and Methods: Subjects were 4,737 men and 6,343 women aged 49-76 years participating in the baseline survey of an ongoing cohort study of lifestyle-related diseases between February 2004 and July 2006. Hazard ratios for all-cause and cause-specific mortality associated with hsCRP levels were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Results: A total of 436 all-cause deaths occurred during a median follow-up of 8 years. The main cause of death was cancer. In men, hsCRP levels were positively associated with the risk of all-cause mortality as well as deaths from cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD). All-cause mortality hazards for the 2nd (0.34-0.84 mg/L) and the 3rd (${\geq}0.85mg/L$) tertiles of hsCRP were 1.27 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.93-1.73) and 1.75 (1.30-2.37), respectively (p for trend=0.001). In women, increased risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality associated with elevated hsCRP levels was observed, but the associations were not statistically significant. Conclusions: HsCRP may be an independent predictor of all-cause, cancer and CVD mortality in apparently healthy Japanese men, but not women. The differential effect of hsCRP in predicting mortality risk by sex warrants further investigation.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.462-469
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• 2010

Protamine has been widely used as a pharmaceutical product and natural food preservative. However, few studies have been conducted to assess the beneficial function of dietary protamine. This study examined the effects of dietary salmon protamine on serum and liver lipid levels and the expression levels of genes encoding proteins involved in lipid homeostasis in the liver of rats. Groups of male Wistar rats were fed AIN93G diet containing 2% or 5% protamine. After 4 weeks of feeding these diets, markedly decreased serum and liver cholesterol (CHOL) and triacylglycerol levels were noted. Increased activity of liver carnitine palmitoyltransferase-2 and acyl-CoA oxidase, which are key enzymes of fatty acid ${\beta}$-oxidation in the mitochondria and peroxisomes, was found in rats fed on protamine. Furthermore, rats fed protamine showed enhanced fecal excretion of CHOL and bile acid and increased liver mRNA expression levels of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) G5 and ABCG8, which form heterodimers and play a major role in the secretion of CHOL into bile. The decrease in triacylglycerol levels in protamine-fed rats was due to the enhancement of liver ${\beta}$-oxidation. Furthermore, rats fed protamine exhibited decreased CHOL levels through the suppression of CHOL and bile acid absorption and the enhancement of CHOL secretion into bile. These results suggest that dietary protamine has beneficial effects that may aid in the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases such as hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.39 no.8
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• pp.773-785
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• 2006

Vitamin E in the body system plays an important role in preventing chronic diseases by decreasing the oxidative stress by free-radicals. However, there are not enough researches on analyzing the primary factors affecting vitamin E levels in the blood in Korean adults. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine blood tocopherol levels and the primary factors affecting the status. A complete lifestyle survey was performed on 314 Korean adult men and surveyed their smoking, drinking and exercising habits. The average plasma level of ${\alpha}-\;and\;{\gamma}-tocopherol$ showed similar mutual relations with plasma total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), or low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels (p<0.001). Plasma ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ level of the subjects did not show any difference as smoking, drinking and exercising habits changed. However, ${\gamma}-tocopherol$ per TG showed much lower figure in smokers than non smokers (p < 0.05). Amongst diet factors, plasma ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ level showed negative correlations with Vitamin E intake, while ${\gamma}-tocopherol$ level showed positive correlations with Vitamin E intake. Erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and plasma tocopherol showed negative correlations, and catalase activity and plasma ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ showed positive correlationship. The level of cell DNA damage of Iymphocyte and plasma ${\alpha}-\;or\;{\gamma}-tocopherol$ showed negative correlations. As a result of this research, the factors that affect Korean adult men's plasma ${\alpha}-tocopherol$ level are plasma TG, LDL-C and cell DNA damage in Iymphocyte, while the factors that affect ${\gamma}-tocopherol$ level are plasma TG, LDL-C and vitamin E intake based on multiple regression analysis. These findings implies that the level of different types of tocopherol depends on slightly different factors. A further research is needed on the factors involved in the differentiation of the types of tocopherol.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1585-1592
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• 2013

Functional food for prevention of chronic diseases is one of this century's key global challenges. Cancer is not only the first or second leading cause of death in China and other countries across the world, but also has diet as one of the most important modifiable risk factors. Major dietary factors now known to promote cancer development are polished grain foods and low intake of fresh vegetables, with general importance for an unhealthy lifestyle and obesity. The strategies of cancer prevention in human being are increased consumption of functional foods like whole grains (brown rice, barley, and buckwheat) and by-products, as well some vegetables (bitter melon, garlic, onions, broccoli, and cabbage) and mushrooms (boletes and Tricholoma matsutake). In addition some beverages (green tea and coffee) may be protective. Southwest China (especially Yunnan Province) is a geographical area where functional crop production is closely related to the origins of human evolution with implications for anticancer influence.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.212-217
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• 2007

This study compared obese children's food group intakes with the new Dietary References Intakes for Koreans (KDRIs) food guides for 5th-6th grade school children. This study also determined the extent of sedentary life styles related with obesity in this area of children. This is it cross-sectional study of 799 school children. The dietitian sent a survey form describing the project and a questionnaire to the subject's family. The questionnaire included child demographics, family history of chronic diseases, the daily servings of five food groups, such as grains, meat and beans, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables. The daily or weekly hours of physical activity, television viewing, and computer usage were also surveyed. Obesity index (%) of the subjects was calculated, and children with an obesity index (%) equal to or greater than 20 were classified as the obese. Among the 799 participants, 50.7% were female. The percentages of the normal and the obese were 691 (86.5%) and 108 (13.5%) respectively. Obese children reported eating less vegetables (p<0.05), more high sugar snacks (p<0.05), and high fat snacks (p<0.05) than normal children. No significant differences in food servings of grains, meats and beans, and fruits, and dairy products between the normal and the obese were shown. Obese children reported fewer hours of physical activities (p<0.05) and more hours of computer usage (p<0.05) than normal children. Girls showed less likelihood of being obese (odds ratio, 0.575, CI (0.38, 0.87), p<0.05). More hours of physical activity significantly decreased the likelihood of being obese (odds ratio, 0.572, CI (0.35, 0.92), p<0.05). Family history of obesity almost doubled the likelihood of obesity in children (odds ratio, 2.653, CI (1.660, 4.241), p<0.05). In conclusion, frequent snacking, inadequate vegetable consumption, and sedentary lifestyle increased significantly the likelihood of obesity in children, which suggest that obesity intervention in this age group should focuse more on those variables.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.28 no.1 s.49
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• pp.85-101
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• 1995

This study was carried out to evaluate the associations between lifestyles and Body Mass Index in a group of 349 male and 65 female medical students, ages 17 to 31 years. 20.0% of male students and 3.1% of female students showed the over weight in the classification of obesity by Japan Society for Study of Obesity. There was no statistically significance in the comparison of the height, body weight, body mass index, obesity index and body fat(%) according to grade in both sexes. But male students showed increasing tendency of waist-hip ratio with grade. According to obesity category, there was significant difference in the comparison of body weight, body mass index, obesity index, waist-hip ratio and body fat(%), but height. Body mass index was positively related with waist-hip ratio(r=0.6150, p=0.0001) and fat(%)(r=0.5101, p=0.0001) in males and waist-hip ratio (r=0.4734, p=0.001) and fat(%)(r=0.4522, p=0.002) in females. This study provides an opportunity to further examine the relationship of sociddemographic factors and health behaviors to obesity, and suggest the basic concept to match the obesity study to general epidemiological cohort studies for controlling of chronic adult diseases.