• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.341-348
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• 2007

This study was to investigate utilization status of internet, health/nutrition websites among children, and to assess the needs for developing nutrition websites and education programs for children. The survey questionnaire was administered to 5-6th grade students (n=434) at two elementary schools. About 32% used the internet every day while 19.5% used it whenever they needed, showing significant differences in internet usage by gender (p<0.01). Although the subjects used the internet frequently, those who used health/nutrition websites were 23.3%. The purpose of using these sites were mainly 'to obtain health/nutrition information' (55%), 'to get information regarding weight control' (17%). Fifty-six percent of the users were satisfied with the nutrition websites, but only 30% said that they were helpful. The preferred topics in developing nutrition websites were assessment of obesity, exercise methods, weight control methods, nutrition information (e.g., diet for stature growth), dietary assessment and food hygiene. Girls showed more interest in these topics than boys (p<0.05). For school nutrition education, girls showed more interest than boys in topics for cooking snacks (p<0.001) and selecting snacks (p<0.05). In nutrition websites, subjects wanted to have information and game/quiz, as well as getting information using Flash animation. The favorite colors for screen and text were slightly different by gender (p<0.01). In school nutrition education, 89.5% of subjects liked to have activities (e.g., cooking, exercise, game). They also liked materials using computers, video and internet than printed materials. If nutrition education was done at schools, subjects wanted to receive 5.7 times of education per semester on average (mean length: 42.6 min/session). This study suggests that nutrition websites and education programs for children should include the topics such as assessment of obesity or diet, weight control and special information (e.g., diet for growth) as well as general information. In designing nutrition websites and programs, methods including game, quiz, Flash animation and activities (cooking, exercise) could be appropriately used to induce the interest and involvement of children.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.657-667
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• 2001

This study was designed to develop a website for providing nutrition information and education for college women and young women. The website focuses on two topics ; general nutrition and desirable weight control. This program is located at http : // www.ezydiet.co.kr. This program is composed of 5 major sections. The first two sections were designed to provide information ; one for general nutrition, and the other for providing information regarding weight control. The first section includes information regarding young adult women's diet, nutrition standards, such as the RDA or Korean Food Pyramid, drinking and smoking. The second section coveres information regarding desirable control, foods with high or low calories, eating disorders and popularly used dieting methods. The third section is for simple nutrition assessment, consisting of assessment of ideal body weight and obesity, energy requirements, and eating habits. The fourth section was designed to introduce and help users to apply behavioral modification techniques, such as monitoring, goal setting, stimulus control and reinforcement. The final section was designed for meal planning, by introducing a food exchange list and menu examples for one week. The characteristics of this web-based program are as follows ; 1) provide nutrition information systematically, 2) involve sections for the participation of the user, 3) include food pictures to help understanding of nutrition information, 4) include management modules for some sections to revise or update the information. One-hundred and ten female university students participated in the evaluation of this website. The evaluation results were favorable. About 90% of subjects rated that this program covers major topics 'well ' or 'very well', and that it was 'easy'to 'very easy'to understand the contents on website. Two-thirds of subjects rated quite positively on questions regarding attractiveness, overall quality and technical quality of website. In addition, about three-fourths of subjects answered that this website was helpful in increasing nutrition knowledge and in applying nutrition information into daily life. These results suggested the possibility of using a website as a means of providing nutrition information and education for young adult women.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.51-66
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to do the quantitative analysis about food and nutrition informations in TV program by monitoring newscastings, health-related food and nutrition information programs, dramas for family, education programs for children, and seniors’ information programs in major TV broadcasting companies (KBS, MBC, SBS, EBS). In this study, number of cases about the health-related food and nutrition informations and the length of program were analyzed. Also, they were compared and analyzed by the year. Monitoring staff, who had majored in food and nutrition and completed the monitoring training, monitored programs and analysis the quantity of food and nutrition informations in each program from 2002 to 2003. Results of quantitative analysis for this study are as follows; There were total number of 15,226 cases. Among them, the total number of health-related information was 5,623 cases(36.9%), and the total number of food-related information was 3,848 cases (25.3%). The ratio of total food and nutrition information to total health-related informations was 86.2%. In news programs from 2002 to 2003, the total number of health-related information to total cases decreased to 16.1% from 17.9%. The ratio of total food and nutrition information to total cases decreased to 3.6% from 6.6%. The frequency of the health-related informations was mostly served in the newscastings was highest, in both October 2002, and September 2003. In health information programs from 2002 to 2003, the ratio of food and nutrition information to total cases increased to 57.4% from 32.4%. In dramas from 2002 to 2003 , the ratio of broadcasting time of food-related scenes to total cases decreased to 17.2% from 20.8%. In education programs for children the ratio of food and nutrition information to total cases was 8.2% in 2002. In information programs for seniors the ratio of food and nutrition information was to total cases 26.2% in 2002. As the result of this study, the rate of health-related information in TV program and the rate of food and nutrition information were changing. And the rate of nutrition information in health information programs are increased. To give sound informations to the public, monitoring should be established and managed continuously.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.763-773
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• 2000

On the basis of the concept retained in nutition label(NL) the consumer's perception use and demand on NL nutrition knowledge(NH) purchase of nutrient controlled food and dietary modification for health were examined. The subjects were 1203 house wives mainly in the age of 30-40 and self administered questionnaire was employed. The results were as follows. Subjects' demand on nutrition information was greater while the availablity and usefulness of NL was unsatisfactory. The purchase frequencies of nutrient controlled foods were higher compared to NL reading. The use comprehenison reliability of nutrition information were better in high NK group compared to low NK group except the reliability on health claims. The required nutrients for content information were in the order of calorie Ca cholesterol Fe protein and total fat. The demand for nutrient content information was carrelated with intention of subjects' dietary modification but not the use of NL. These results indicate that NL be a good source of nutrition information and the consumers' demand for NL was based on their dietary purpose though the use of NL was unconfirmed.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.302-308
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• 2004

This study was conducted to compare the acquiring and using patterns of information about food and nutrition between medical professional group (MP) and non-medical professionals group (NP). Questionnaire survey were done by total 310 subjects, 149 doctors/nurses (MP) working in Dankook University Hospital and 161 general laborers (NP) in Cheonan area. Personal characteristics, interests in food and nutrition information, and application of information about food and nutrition were asked in questionnaire. Age of MP and NP ranged from 20 to 50. In education level, 59.8% of MP and 46.6% of NP had college degree. The source of information favored the most was the internet website, 53.0% in MP and 51.6% in NP. The most interested information subjects in MP were ‘the diet therapy related to diseases’, and ‘cooking recipes’ in NP. The information was applied to their real life in 55.7% of MP and 58.4% of NP. The percentiles who would like to take part in the education about food and nutrition through internet system were 44.3% of MP and 34.8% of NP. From the results of this study, we concluded that many of MP and NP wanted and needed the education on food and nutrition through internet system. For being the better and more efficient source for the information about food and nutrition, internet websites should provide accurate informations and easier method to find the needed information to the users.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.787-794
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate the interests in food and nutrition information of internet users, and find the major problems associated with the use of internet information. Of 660 internet users, including 152 professionals, 127 white-collars, 130 college students, and 29 others, 66.4% had accessed the internet to obtain information. Of the subjects, 71% had used the internet to obtain nutrition information, 91.3% of which answered that they would keep using the internet for this purpose. The area of greatest interest and need of the professional users, in relation to nutrition information from the internet, was 'recipe and menu' (p<0.001). Whereas, the white-collars were most interested in nutrition information for 'diet for weight control' and 'diet'(p<0.001). Students were most interested in nutrition information related to 'diet' and 'diet for weight control'(p<0.001). Due to the variety of interests and applications of different users, there is a need to develop specialized nutrition information sites for internet users to easily obtain reliable and valuable information.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.20-26
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• 2001

The rating instrument to evaluate the quality of nutrition information websites was developed and ten websites which were maintained by nutrition expert(s) and frequently linked to other related sites were evaluated. The rating instrument with 15 questions on credibility, content, purpose, and design was developed. Eleven college students majoring in Food and Nutrition rated each question as 'Yes', 'No', 'Cannot tell' while visiting each site. The questions rated most often as 'Yes' were 'Is it capable for a user to interact with a responsible person for the site?', 'Is the information provided by nutrition expert?', 'Does the information fit in with dietary guideline?' in the order. The questions rated most often as 'No' were 'Is the source of the information indicated?', 'Is the purpose of the site stated?', and 'Is an internal search engine working?', indicating these categories need betterment. The questions rated most often as 'Cannot tell' were 'Is the information current?', 'Is the information provider credible?', indicating that these may be difficult questions for college students to evaluate. Individuals or institutions who are providing nutrition information on the internet now or plan to provide later are expected to consider the problems pointed out in this study, and offer highly qualified information to the users in an effective way. Various rating instruments to evaluate the quality of nutrition information websites can be developed based on a variety of criteria. It is, however, to be desired that a standardized rating instrument would be developed by a leading group of nutrition experts, and the results of site review with the instrument be open to the public in order to improve the quality of Korean nutrition information on the internet.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.143-158
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• 2004

The object of this study is to investigate and analyze the quantity and quality of informations on health, food and nutrition reported by newspapers. Six different major domestic daily newspapers(Hankook Ilbo, Donga IIbo, Chosun IIbo, Kyunghyang Shinmun, Hankyoreh Shinmun, JoongAng Ilbo), were monitored from 1st of May to 31st of Oct. 2002.. The results of monitoring in the newspapers were summarized as follows; 1. The total percentage of the articles on health and food nutrition was 2.7% and the percentage of the advertisements on health, food and nutrition was 17.5% of total area of the newspaper. The ratio of the number of food and nutrition topic on the total number of health and food nutrition topic was 35.8% for the articles, was 62.9% for the advertisements. Among advertisements on food and nutrition, the percentage of advertisements on healthy foods was the highest (3,481 or 55.0%). 2. Contents of 340 articles(26.1%) were reported as suitable informations. Contents of 259 articles(19.9%) were reported as inaccurate informations on health, food and nutrition. In the analysis of advertisements, the number of advertisements without sufficient reliable sources was 2,488 cases(23.0%), and with exaggerated contents was 2,268 cases(21.0%). The 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 newspapers.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.401-411
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The expansion of menu labeling to restaurants has created a need to study customers' behavior toward nutrition information. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to compare college students' behavior toward nutrition information communication between Korea and the US. This study consisted of three objectives: 1) to compare the frequency of usage as well as degree of trust regarding smartphone-based communication channels in the acquisition of nutrition information among college students between Korea and the US, 2) to compare knowledge-sharing behavior related to nutrition information among college students between Korea and the US, and 3) to identify the role of country in the process of knowledge-sharing behavior. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A survey was distributed via the web to college students in Korea and the US. Data were collected in the 2nd week of March 2017. Completed responses were collected from 423 Koreans and 280 Americans. Differences between Koreans and Americans were evaluated for statistical significance using a t-test. In order to verify the effects of knowledge self-efficacy and transactive memory capability on knowledge-sharing behavior related to nutrition information, a regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: Significant differences were found in the frequency of usage as well as degree of trust in communication channels related to nutrition information between Korean and American college students. While knowledge self-efficacy and tractive memory capability had positive effects on knowledge-sharing behavior related to nutrition information, country had a significant effect on the process. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to compare customer behavior toward nutrition information acquisition and sharing between Korea and the US. Comparative research on nutrition information revealed differences among the different countries. Therefore, this study contributes to the body of knowledge on the nutrition information research, in particular, by providing a comparison study between countries.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.200-215
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• 2006

This study carried out to assess the quality of the information presented on the internet about nutrition specifically in the field of health functional food by monitoring with 10 panels from May, 2004 to October. Four hundred seven relevant websites were initially selected from a process using 5 search engines and the keywords ‘food’ and ‘nutrition’, and 404 sites actually met all inclusion criteria. Most of the sites evaluated 219 (54.20%) were commercial sites and then distributed noncommercial organization site 93 (23.0%), individual site 92(22.8%). Assessment quality indicator was carried out using the 17 necessary requisites, which has been developed to enable users and information providers to judge the quality of food and nutrition information. The mean score for quality grade was 11.07, five site out of a maximum score of 17 and two sites with the lowest total scores for the quality of food and nutrition information. Noncommercial organization site assessed achieved the highest score in accurate and useful informations to the public. Low ranked sites had the most inaccurate or misleading information, emphasizing only the positive aspects of the information, with little or no evidence. Many commercial sites used personal testimony as the most popular ‘proof’ for the effectiveness of product. This was anecdotal rather than scientific evidence based on which the objective validation was difficult to be made. Therefore, it can be challenging for both public and health professionals, to sort out useful information from a plethora of advertisements and promotions on the web sites. Our results suggest that nutrition professionals should talk about useful information of health, food and nutrition with public and help them find the best available information when using the internet.