• Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.59-64
• /
• 2003

The National Nutrition Survey in Japan (NNS-J) started in 1945 and has provided information on dietary intake and health status of Japanese citizens to the public and policymakers for more than half a century. We summarized several relevant issues on the survey in this report : the current framework of the NNS-J in accordance with the Nutrition Improvement Law, utilization of the survey for nutrition and health policy in Japan, the Health Promotion Law recently enacted in 2003, the national plan for health promotion and disease prevention (Health Japan 21), and possible measures to improve the survey systems under the new law. We also mentioned implementation structures of regional health and nutrition surveys, because the Health Promotion Law designates an active role of local governments on promoting health for their citizens, which will enhance the needs for appropriate assessment of health and nutrition conditions in each community as well as the monitoring at the national level. (J Community Nutrition 5(2) : 59-64,2003)

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.462-476
• /
• 2007

This study aimed to develop a nutrition education internet program for correcting the eating-out behaviorial problems of youth. A survey was performed to investigate the eating-out behavior patterns of youth by questionnaires. A nutrition education program was developed on the basis of the survey results, and evaluated by teenagers. The results of the developed homepage are summarized as follows: The contents of this program (www.health14.net) consist of '${\times}$ Health (Teenager, My Health, Healthy life, Beautiful life)', '+ Nutrition (To find slow foods, Fast foods campaign, Selecting fast foods, The best menu for eating-out, Recipes for health, Golden bell nutrition quiz)', '${\div}$ Information (Diet mini-homepage, Q & A, My knowhow, Game, Community)' and 'Basic Menu (home, Log in, Information and news, Mini-homepage, Site map, Free bulletin board)'. It can be used as educational material for dietary behaviorial changes in school. Also teachers and parents could get information on eating-out menus. Through this site, we anticipate contributing to nutritional health promotion by correcting the eating-out habits of youth.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.420-429
• /
• 2009

The purposes of this study were to investigate the perception of nutrition labeling on restaurant menus, and to analyze the differences among subject's characteristics, eating-out behaviors, and dietary attitudes. Information concerning general characteristics, health status, eating-out behaviors and dietary attitudes of subjects was collected by a structured questionnaire. From January 5th to February 27th in 2009, 406 questionnaires were completed by 157 males and 249 females. Statistical analyses were performed using by SPSS 14.0 package program. The perception of the importance of nutrition labeling was 3.89, while knowledge of whether restaurants provided sufficient nutrition information scored 2.26 indicating that being highly conscious of nutrition labeling, respondents did not view the supplied information as sufficient. Nutritional perception was greater in females and varied in both genders with age and health status. Significant differences concerning the perceptions of nutrition labeling were evident, based on eating-out behaviors and dietary attitudes. The results imply that nutrition labeling on restaurant menus should be based on consumer characteristics. Relevant nutrition labeling might help improve health by encouraging proper dietary habits and providing valuable nutritional information. Recognition of the importance of nutrition labeling and strategic implementation of labeling in menus would be prudent strategies for restaurant managers. (Korean J Community Nutrition 14(4) : 420${\sim}$429, 2009)

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.432-438
• /
• 2015

The purpose of menu labeling is to offer eating environments with improved healthy food selection. Similar to U.S. policies, the Korea government enforces the Special Act on Children's Food Safety and Nutrition for provision of nutritional labeling in chain restaurants. Considering the importance of dining services for college students and their interests in health, this study examined college students' perception toward nutrition information provided by university dining services. A survey was conducted for university students. Students' recognition of nutrition information for university dining services was lower than recognition of nutrition information for commercial food services. The most common reason cited by students for considering nutrition information of university dining services was customer rights, followed by health maintenance. Students showed a high tendency to use nutrition information of university dining services. College students' motivation for knowing nutrition information of university dining services included health and value interests. Students' knowledge of nutrition had a positive effect on their intention to know nutrition information. The findings of this study offer university administrators and contract food service management companies directions for developing menu labeling for university dining services.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.354-360
• /
• 2001

This study was carried out to investigate the present status of nutrition services for infants in public health centers and the need for nutrition services of health workers and infants mothers. The study subjects were 146 health workers and 197 infants mothers. The results were as follows : At present, the only major nutrition services for infants were vaccination and dental care. Proper nutrition management services were available to infants. Nutrition knowledge scores were 16.8 for health workers and 15.3 for mothers out of 20 possible points. Health workers strongly demanded a well-organized nutrition education program, government support, audio-visual materials and the employment of a community nutritionist. The public health workers, in particular, demanded the development of education programs for breastfeeding and weaning. The infants mothers demanded services of nutrition information and teaching of cooking and menu planning. Based on this, the results suggest that the employment of a community nutritionist and the development of practical nutrition service programs for infants are needed very urgently for public health centers.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.305-310
• /
• 2006

The Web is an important source of information for health care consumers, and the resources they find on the Web have a direct affect on their health outcomes. Despite the enormous benefits of online health care, the quality of health information on the Internet is an area of increasing concern. Therefore, there's a need to develop quality assessment tools that can filter out poor quality online health information. The purpose of this study is to explore the critical attributes for assessing website quality and for developing quality assessment measurements. We completed three focus group discussions with 24 participants that were administered by a moderator and based on specifically focused group questions. The results suggest that the most important quality criteria, as identified by the respondents, were related to issues of credibility and accuracy. To determine the credibility of Internet health information, the respondents stated one must consider the following: the information source, disclosure of the author's or organization's credentials/qualifications, disclosure of ownership and the updating of the content. For the accuracy of content, elements such as a statement of purpose, evidence-based information, relevance and completeness should be considered. Interactivity, accessibility, and design were additional quality criteria.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.159-173
• /
• 2004

The desire for the healthy life is increasing as a result of rapidly changing social and economic environment in Korea. Because of the need, informations on health, food and nutrition are being introduced through the mass media. The object of this study is to investigate and analyze the quantity and quality of informations about health, food and nutrition in women's magazines. Six representative domestic monthly magazines(Lady Kyunghyang, Women Donga, Women Chosun, Women JoongAng, Women sense, Jubu Senghwal) were selected for this study. The results of monitoring from June 2002 to September 2002 for the women's magazines were summarized as follows; 1. The percentage of the articles on health, food and nutrition by total area of the women's magazines was 23.1%. There were total 595 articles on health, food and nutrition. Among these, 400 articles(67.2%) were about food and nutrition. 2. The percentage of the advertisements on health, food and nutrition was 35.3% by total area of the woman's magazines. There were 2,353 advertisements on health, food and nutrition. Among these, 1,574(66.9%) advertisements were about food and nutrition. The most frequently advertised advertisements on food and nutrition were about processed foods (527 cases, 33.5%). The second most frequently advertised advertisements were about diet (374 cases, 23.8%). The third one was healthy foods (345 cases, 21.9%). 3. The contents of 215(53.8%) articles (the total number of articles was 400) was suitable. The contents of 89 advertisements(22.3%) did not have accurate informations on health, food and nutrition. For the advertisements in women's magazines (the number of total articles was 2,203), the percentage of the advertisements which was not able to capture the feature of the advertisements was 27.9%, insufficiency of reliable sources was to 21.9%, and exaggeration of the contents in the ads was 16.0%. Articles and advertisements should be backed by scientific research or reliable sources and also the opinions of people with expertise in order to report accurate informations to the general public. In order to achieve these results, there should be continuing monitoring activity for the women's magazines.

• Nutritional Sciences
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.55-62
• /
• 2001

Consumers'frequent use of micronutrient supplements has caused concerns o possible overdoses and prompted the view that the appropriate provision of nutrition information on such supplements is needed. In this study the nutrition information on vitamin-mineral supplements in Korea was evaluated based on the labels on the supplements. Consumers'use, reliance on and demand for nutrition information were examined by self-administered questionnaire. Subjects were 1,203 middle-aged housewives. Under examination were 141 multinutrient products (86.6%) and single nutrient products (13.4%). Various names and units were used for the same nutrient and the labels were not informative to consumers. The mode of nutrients contents in the supplements were several fold of RDA though not in the range of toxicity. %RDA value was seldom shown on the label. Currently these supplements are classified as general drugs in Korea so they are not subject to regulations on nutrition labeling. Half of the subjects read the nutrient content list but two-thirds of them did not understand the information. Numerous health claims related to diseases were listed on the label and more than half of the subjects read them and one-third believed those health claims. These results indicate the need for an appropriate format for nutrition information on vitamin-mineral supplements.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.361-370
• /
• 2001

This survey was conducted to evaluate with 457 health professionals from July, 1999 to September, 1999 the awareness of and satisfaction with the nutrition labeling system in Korea and to determine a desirable labeling system. Professors of food and nutrition and nutrition researchers in the food industry had the hightest scores on awareness of the nutrition labeling system(75.6% and 73.4%, respectively), which was significantly different from each other by occupation(p < 0.01). Frequently checked labeling information were expiration date, production date, price, and company respectively. Special nutrient food producers(56.9%), dietitians(49.3%), nurses(48.1%), researchers(42.3%) answered moderately on satisfaction with nutrition information for products, which was statistically significant(p < 0.01). This suggests that health professionals were unsatisfied with the present nutrition labeling system. In nutrition focusing statements, nutrient content claims, health claims, and working periods were significantly related with nutrition focusing statements and health claims, but not with nutrient content claims : the subject who had been working for more than 10 years and less than 5 years had positive thoughts or those matters while the subjects whose working periods were between 10 and 5 years had the lowest score. The most desirable labeling units were serving size(65.1%). Ninety two percent of the subjects wanted absolute nutrient contents in food and their percentage of the KRDA. Eight nine percent of health professionals agreed that the health claims should be used only with scientific approval by the government or food research institutions. Only 4.4% of subjects were satisfied with current regulations of health claims(p < 0.001). More studies regarding labeling units, their range and nutrient reference values are needed. The opinions of health professionals in nutrition labeling system should discussed to establish a desirable nutrition labeling system.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.175-183
• /
• 2005

Considering the increasing global burden of disease attributable to nutrition, the demand for national nutrition policies is growing stronger and stronger. The Republic of Korea is beginning to respond to this growing demand and there have been numerous recent achievements in the area of nutrition. The purpose of this paper is two fold. In the first part of the paper, an overview is provided about existing nutrition action in Korea. In the second part, information is elicited from Korean experts in the field of public health and nutrition. A structured questionnaire was sent directly to renowned Korean experts and was disseminated through the list serve of the Korean Nutrition Society. It asked about existing nutrition related policies, obstacles to nutrition policies in Korea, which professions are 'responsible' for the prevention of nutrition-related diseases and for example about existing nutrition programs within settings. Twenty-two questionnaires were returned. Based on the results, the following actions were considered crucial to develop and implement a nutrition policy in Korea: having a clear advocacy strategy for nutrition to raise awareness about the importance of nutrition, increase transparency of nutrition-related action and make the information easily accessible for all stakeholders, ensure the enforcement of regulations regarding misleading and incorrect food advertisements, strengthening the (public health) nutrition workforce, strengthen the settings-based approach and build and maintain partnerships, and last not least: educate and empower the citizens and ensure that healthy choices are 'easy choices'! Acknowledging the past and ongoing efforts in Korea, it is pivotal that the nutrition workforce grows stronger and the voice of nutritionists even louder, in order to promote and ensure the health and quality of life of the country's citizens. (J Community Nutrition 7(4) : $175\∼183$, 2005)