• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.38-53
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• 2021

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Abdominal obesity is associated with metabolic disorders, and, in recent years, its prevalence in Korea has continuously increased. The change of lifestyle, particularly diet, is critical for the reduction of abdominal obesity. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an intervention focused on dietary self-efficacy and behaviors on the improvement of abdominal obesity. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Abdominally obese adults with additional cardiovascular risk factors were recruited through 16 medical facilities in South Korea from the year 2013 to 2014. The participants were randomly divided into 2 groups: an intensive intervention group (IG) that received a multi-component intervention to reduce abdominal obesity, by mainly focusing on dietary attitude and dietary behavior change, and a minimal information intervention group (MG) that received a brief explanation of health status and a simple recommendation for a lifestyle change. The interventions were provided for 6 mon, and health examinations were conducted at baseline, 3-, 6-, and 12-mon follow-ups. A path analysis was conducted to identify the process governing the changes in abdominal obesity. RESULTS: The IG showed an improvement in self-efficacy for eating control and diet quality at 6-mon follow-up. Abdominal obesity improved in both groups. Waist circumference was observed to be decreased through the path of "improved self-efficacy for eating control in food availability-eating restriction-improved dietary quality" in IG. Most changes in follow-ups were not significantly different between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The intensive program targeting the modification of dietary behavior influenced management of abdominal obesity, and the effect occurred through a step-by-step process of change in attitude and behavior. Generally, improvements were also seen in the MG, which supports the necessity of regular health check-ups and brief consultation. The results can be used for further development and implementation of more successful interventions.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.743-753
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among nutritional status, serum lipids and leptin of 134 elementary school students with different obesity index residing in Kyunggi-do, Korea. Subjects were assigned to under weight, normal weight or over weight group according to the their obesity index. Their nutritional status, serum lipid and leptin levels were evaluated based on 24-hr dietary recalls, anthropometric measurements and blood analysis. The mean weight, height and obesity index of total subjects was 150.8cm, 45.6kg and 5.4%. The mean % of body fat was higher while LBM and TBW (total body water) were lower in over weight subjects than those of other two groups. Total food, plant protein, carbohydrate, and vitamin C intakes of underweight male students were lower than those of overweight male students. The consumption of total fat was the highest in the female normal weight subjects and the lowest in female overweight subjects. Male students consumed more plant protein and vitamin C than female students. The mean daily intake of vitamin B$_2$, calcium and zinc of all subjects did not meet the Korean RDA. Also, iron intake of female students was lower than the Korean RDA. The mean level of serum leptin was the highest in male and female overweight subjects (p＜0.001). The HDL-cholesterol level was the highest in the underweight group of male subjects (p＜0.05) and in the normal weight group of female subjects (p＜0.001) The serum level of leptin and atherogenic index (AI) of females were higher than those of males. Serum leptin of total subjects had significantly positive correlation with obesity index, weight, SBP, body fat, cholesterol intake, serum triglyceride, and AI. However, serum leptin was negatively correlated with LBM, TBW, intake of plant protein, vitamin B$_1$, vitamin C and serum HDL-cholesterol. Obesity index was also positively correlated with weight, SBP, body fat, serum triglyceride and AI. To summarize the results, the vitamin B$_2$, calcium, zinc, iron and fiber intakes should be supplied to elementary school students, especially those who were overweight. The average serum leptin level of students showed remarkably positive correlation with obesity index, body fat, serum lipids and AI. Also, it was suggested that the serum leptin might be related to the dietary factors like cholesterol, plant protein, vitamin B$_1$ and vitamin C of elementary school students.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9579-9586
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• 2014

There is growing scientific evidence linking excess body weight to breast cancer risk. However, there is no common consensus on this relation due partly to methodologies used, populations studied and the cancer subtype. We report here a summary of the present state of knowledge on the role of overweight and obesity in pathogenesis of breast cancer and possible mechanisms through which excess body weight might influence the risk, focusing on the role of oxidative stress in breast cancer etiology. The findings demonstrate duality of excess body weight action in dependence on menopausal status: a statistically significant increased risk in postmenopausal overweight/ obese women and non-significant preventive effect among premenopausal women. Due to several gaps in the literature on this topic, additional studies are needed. Future research should address factors influencing the excess body weight - breast cancer relationship, such as race/ethnicity, tumor subtype, receptor status, the most appropriate measure of adiposity, reproductive characteristics, and lifestyle components.

• Journal of mucopolysaccharidosis and rare diseases
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.44-48
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• 2015

Body fat distribution in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is characterized by reduce lean body mass (LBM), increased total body fat mass (FM), and lower percentage of visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Individuals with PWS seem to have a lower risk for insulin resistance with high levels of adiponectin, an anti-atherogenic adipocytokine that is decreased in visceral fat hypertrophy subjects compared to simple obese subjects, both in children and in adults. The mechanism of the reduction in visceral adiposity in PWS is still unclear. It might be related to qualitative intrinsic characteristics of adipocyte or novel genetic influences on the control of fat distribution. However, obesity remains a critical problem, and obesity status plays a crucial role in individual metabolic risk clustering and development of metabolic syndrome (Mets) in PWS children and adults. Long-term growth hormone (GH) treatment after cessation of skeletal growth improved body composition, with an increase in lean body mass and a reduction in total body fat and subcutaneous and visceral fat in PWS adults. Thus, the role of GH is important after childhood because it might attenuate obesity and Mets in PWS adult by adipocyte modification.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.10
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• pp.1642-1654
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• 2005

With the decoding of human genome in 2004 and the recent development in nutritional science there has been an integration of molecular biology and nutrition. As a consequenc a now word ' molecular nutrition ' has been formed and recently the word 'nutrigenomics' is coined and widely being used. The field of science that showed the most positive result from grafting the science of nutrition and nutrigenomics is obesity. In 1994, Jeffrey Friedman from Rockeffeler University announced that ob gene and obesity has a close relationship and since then there's been a huge research done on genes related to obesity from the molecular nutrition's Point of view. Even now there are many genes presented which are supposed to be related to obesity and big efforts are put into finding what exactly those genes do. Moreover studying only in the context of genes was not enough so functional genomics, which is the study of the functions of cells and the functions and effects between genes and Protein Products, is being studied. This review article discusses the relationship between nutrition and genes and the general idea of nutrigenomics. The article also discusses about the current research status on these subjects.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.428-439
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of chronic diseases according to obesity in the elderly older than age 65 using data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016~2018). The subjects of the survey were 3,245 elderly older than age 65 who participated in the health survey and nutrition survey, 45.8% of the subjects were males and 54.2% of the subjects were female. 37.5% of all the elderly were obese, and the females (42.4%) were more obese than the males (31.8%) (p<0.001). Diabetes, hypertension, and hypertriglyceridemia had a similar prevalence of 24.6%, 63.0%, and 12.7% in males and females, respectively. Hypercholesterolemia was higher in the elderly females (44.2%) than in the elderly males (24.9%) (p<0.001). Through the logistic regression analysis, it was found that the prevalence of chronic diseases was higher in obesity than normal in elderly males and females (p<0.001). The total food intake increased from 'under weight' to 'obesity' in males (p<0.01) and females (p<0.001). In the case of the elderly males, the higher the degree of obesity, the higher the energy intake (p<0.05), and 'pre-obesity' consumed the most energy in elderly females. As a result of this study, the higher the obesity rate of the elderly, the higher the prevalence of chronic diseases.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.121-128
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• 2018

Purpose: Obesity has been associated with higher total blood mercury levels, based on animal studies; however, studies that focus on children and adolescents are lacking. We aimed to assess the association between total blood mercury levels and the incidence of overweight and abdominal obesity in Korean adolescents. Methods: The study population comprised 1,567 adolescents (793 boys and 774 girls; aged 10-19 years), who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010-2013. We analyzed total blood mercury levels according to obesity status in all participants. Results: The geometric mean of total blood mercury levels was $1.93{\mu}g/L$. Participants with overweight ($2.20{\mu}g/L$) and obesity ($2.17{\mu}g/L$) had higher levels than those with normal weight ($1.86{\mu}g/L$, P<0.0001). The prevalence of overweight significantly increased with elevation of the total blood mercury quartile in both sexes. Increased incidence of abdominal obesity corresponding to increased total blood mercury level was observed in boys. After adjusting for covariates, those in the highest total blood mercury quartile were found to be at higher risk of overweight/obesity than those in the lowest quartile in both sexes (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: boys, 3.27 [1.66-6.41]; girls, 1.90 [1.03-3.49]). The association between total blood mercury quartile and abdominal obesity was significant after controlling for covariates in boys (2.35 [1.05-5.24]). Conclusion: Our results suggest an association between total blood mercury levels and overweight in Korean adolescents.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.109-120
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• 2014

Objectives: This study was to examine the associations between obesity level and major chronic diseases in older population in Korea, using different obesity indicators. Methods: Data was from the 2008 KloSA Biomarker pilot, a nationwide sample of 514 non-institutionalized subjects (age $63.6{\pm}9.8$ years; women 57.2%). Anthropometric information was collected by home visiting nurses. Portable bioimpedence devices(Omran HBF359) were used for measuring fat mass. Obesity cut-offs used the Asian criteria of $BMI{\geq}25$, $WC{\geq}90/85cm$, and $fat%{\geq}25/35$ for men and women. Chronic disease prevalence was defined by physician-diagnosed history of 8 specified diseases. Results: Prevalence of chronic diseases significantly increased with increment of obesity level by BMI, WC and fat %. Odds ratios of acquiring chronic diseases remained significant in the obese group (BMI OR 2.76, 95%CI 1.82-4.19; WC OR 2.73, 95%CI 1.81-4.11; Fat OR 1.87 95%CI 1.26-2.78), after adjusting for age, sex, marital status, education, work participation, household income, smoking, drinking, and exercise. Conclusions: Obesity measured by all three indicators, BMI, WC, and fat mass cannot be disregarded, accentuating the significant effect on increases in disease risks among older population. BMI and WC measure appeared better to assess the risks of chronic diseases.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.112-119
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• 2011

Objectives : Obesity has been linked to various psychological problems as well as medical complications, especially among adolescents. Previous studies have suggested an association between body weight and depression or self-esteem ; however, there has been little evidence on self-perception of weight and mental health. The aim of this study was to examine the association of perceptional weight status with mental health in Korean adolescents. Methods : This study was based on data obtained from the third Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (2005). The study sample consisted of 583 adolescents (268 boys, 315 girls) aged 12-18 years, who had completed the health survey, the health examination, and the nutritional survey. Participants were divided into two groups based on the actual or perceptional weight status: non-obese and obese. Questionnaires for stress, depressive mood, and suicidal thoughts were utilized as mental health indicators. Results : The agreement between actual and perceptional weight status was moderate (k value, 0.585 ; p<0.01). The influencing factors for the discrepancy between actual and perceptional weight status were body mass index of subjects and their parents' education. The obese group was likely to have higher stress levels and more experience of depressive mood or suicidal ideation in regard to both actual and perceptional weight status. A multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that girls who had perceived themselves as obese were more likely to have an experience of depressive mood than other girls (unadjusted OR, 4.98 ; adjusted OR, 5.15). Conclusion : An experience of depressive mood was significantly associated with the perception of weight status and not actual weight status in Korean female adolescents.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.710-721
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• 2009

This study was conducted to investigate the body weight status (by WLI: Weight-Length Index) and dietary habits and to assess the nutritional status among preschool children in the Daegu area. Dietary habits including dietary attitude and behavior were investigated using questionnaire answered by mothers of 680 subjects aged 4 to 6 years old (508 completed). Also, dietary intake survey using 24-hour recall method was performed by mothers of the children. According to WLI, the underweight, normal, overweight and obesity level of subjects were 9.1, 62.0, 19.5, and 9.4%, respectively. As well, the number of girls was higher than boys in underweight, overweight, and obese group. There were significantly different on overeating, eating fast, and preferring eating-out by body weight status, and overweight group got higher score than underweight or normal-weight group (p < 0.01, p < 0.001). As well, there was significantly different on not moving around during mealtime by body weight status, and underweight group have lower score than obese group (p < 0.001). From the 24-hour recall survey, it was found that intakes of all the nutrients were higher than the %KDRI except energy, calcium and folate. The energy intake of underweight group of 4~5-year old (1338.2 kcal) and 6-year old was lower than Koreans %DRI for those age group. Folate and dietary fiber intakes of obese group were significantly lower than underweight (p < 0.01, p < 0.05). For 4~5-year old, vitamin $B_6$ intakes of obese group were significantly higher than obese group (p < 0.05). For 6-year old, obese group showed that intake of vitamin $B_1$ was significantly higher than the other three groups, and intake of vitamin $B_1$ of overweight group was significantly higher than the other three groups. Taken together, these results indicate that there were significant differences in the nutrient intake level and dietary habits of preschool children by body weight status in Daegu area. Therefore, parents (family) and caregivers should be aware of the prevalence of obesity and nutritional status of preschool children, and start nutrition education as soon as possible.