• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.18-25
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• 2018

This study examined the sweet taste perception, perception of sugar reduction, and utilization of nutrition labeling according to the awareness of the self-perceived sugar intake reduction of university students in Chungbuk Area. The subjects (n=419) were divided into two groups: Awareness of Sugar Intake Reduction (ASIR) group, male=110, female=109; Non Awareness of Sugar Intake Reduction (NASIR) group, male=115, female=85. The overweight/obesity was significantly higher in the ASIR group than in the NASIR group for both male and female students. The sweet taste perception was significantly lower in the ASIR group in male students than in the NASIR group. The purchase level of a product with reduced sugar instead of the original products was significantly higher in the ASIR group in male students than the NASIR group. Beverage purchases after identifying the sugar content were significantly higher in the ASIR group in male students than in the NASIR group. The necessity of nutrition labeling education was significantly higher in the ASIR group both male and female students. Based on these results, the correct perception of sugar reduction and continuous and practical nutrition education of sugar intake reduction need to maintain healthy dietary habits in university students.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.111-121
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• 2021

Objectives: This study examined ways to promote desirable eating habits by choosing foods with low sugar contents and provide nutrition education in adolescents. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey. The sugar reduction perception and knowledge, sugary food preference, and intake frequency of 487 male and female high school students in Incheon were analyzed comparatively. Results: Approximately 94.9% and 94.5% of the subjects were unaware of the promotion of a sugar reduction policy and the sugar reduction in the basic guidelines for school meals, respectively. Approximately 95% of them had not received any sugar reduction nutrition education, and 90% were not interested in sugar reduction. The perception for sugar reduction was significantly higher in girls (3.43 out of 5 points) than in boys (3.16 out of 5 points) (P < 0.001). Knowledge about sugar was 3.65 out of 6 points in girls and 3.04 points in boys (P < 0.001). The preference and intake frequency for fruits of the total students were 4.24 out of 5 points and 2.56, respectively. For beverages, the preference was significantly higher in boys (3.97 points) than in girls (3.70 points) (P < 0.001), and the intake frequency was significantly higher in boys (2.26 points) than in girls (2.08 points) (P < 0.001). The preference for snacks was significantly higher for girls (4.19 points) than boys (4.02 points) (P < 0.01), and the intake frequency was 2.22 points in boys and 2.17 in girls, showing no significant difference. Sugar reduction perception and knowledge about sugar showed significant negative correlations with the snack intake frequency (r = -0.11, P < 0.05; -0.13, P < 0.05) after adjusting for gender, grade, and body mass index. Conclusions: The high school students' perception of sugar reduction was very low, and there was a significant correlation with sugary food intake, suggesting that the sugary food intake will decrease as the sugar reduction perception and knowledge about sugar increase.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.62-74
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate dietitians or nutrition teachers' perception of sugar reduction and usage of sugars in school meal service. A survey was conducted for dietitians or nutrition teachers at elementary, middle, and high schools in Gyeonggi and Incheon. Survey data were analyzed according to the experience period and school types of dietitians or nutrition teachers. The numbers of subjects according to work experience period were 134 (44.2%) for <5 years, 68 (22.4%) for ${\geq}5$ and <10 years, and 101 (33.3%) for ${\geq}10years$. Among the subjects, 168 (55.4%) were nutrition teachers at kindergarten/elementary schools, and 135 (44.6%) were at middle/high/special schools. Perceptions of sugar reduction programs were higher in kindergarten/elementary schools than in middle/high/special schools. The perception of added sugar use increased with more work experience, and interest in sugar reduction was higher in kindergarten/elementary schools than in middle/high/special schools. Practice for added sugar reduction increased with more work experience, and the most common method for reducing sugar was use of natural sugars. The main reason for not reducing added sugars in school meals was due to preference. Nutritional education for students increased with more work experience and was higher in kindergarten/elementary schools than in middle/high/special schools. The major nutritional education methods were using school homepage (37.4%), sending family letters (37.4%), and using principle's discretion time (18.4%). Organic sugar and rice taffy were used more at kindergarten/elementary schools, and white sugar, brown sugar, and white syrup were used more at middle/high/special schools. The most common menu using added sugars was stir-fried dishes (stir-fried pork, chicken, and vegetables).

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.546-554
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of sugar reduction, nutrition education, and frequency of snacking in children according to the self-perceived dietary preferences for sweet taste by mothers in Busan. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 277 mothers were surveyed, and their perceptions of sugar reduction and the frequency of snacking in children were assessed using a questionnaire. The subjects were classified into either a sweet (n = 91) or an unsweet (n = 186) group according to their self-perceived preferences for a sweet taste. RESULTS: In the sweet group, the results for sweet products were sweetened ice (86.8%), confectionery (74.7%), processed milk (73.6%), carbonated beverages (71.4%), and fermented milk (53.9%). In the unsweet group, the results were sweetened ice (88.7%), carbonated beverages (78.5%), processed milk (75.8%), confectionery (69.4%), and fermented milk (50.5%). The necessity of sugar intake reduction was high in both groups (sweet = 89.0%, unsweet = 82.8%). Beverage purchases after identifying the nutrition labeling was significantly lower in the sweet group than in the unsweet group (P < 0.05). The reasons for the beverage purchases instead of water were "habitually" (50.5%) and "like sweet taste" (25.3%) in the sweet group (P < 0.01). Snacking in children was significantly higher in the sweet group based on the increased frequencies of carbonated drinks (P < 0.01), fast food (P < 0.001), candy and chocolate (P < 0.05), crackers (P < 0.01), ramen (P < 0.01), and fish paste/hotdogs (P < 0.01). The frequency of purchase education after identifying the nutrition labeling was significantly lower in the sweet group than in the unsweet group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that a perception of sugar reduction and practical nutrition education aimed at reducing the sugar intake are necessary to improve dietary habits.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.12-23
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• 2017

Gustation, initiated by the detection of taste molecules by specific receptors expressed in taste cells, plays an essential role in food selection and consequently in overall nutrition for humans. In the past decade, a remarkable amount of knowledge of taste perception in the neurology, molecular biology, and genetics has emerged, particularly in basic tastes- sweet, bitter, sour, salt and umami. Among them, sweet, bitter and umami are recognized via the specific G-protein coupled receptors. Salt and sour are primarily mediated by apically located ion channel-type receptors. Because excessive salt or sugar consumption leads to high rates of diet-associated diseases and it comes from eating prepared or processed foods, an understanding of the underlying mechanisms in salt and sweet perception is crucial in food industry. This review will focus on recent progress of the perception of salt and sweet taste to provide basic knowledge for reducing salt and sugar consumption.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.23-40
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• 2021

This study was conducted to examine the sugar intake and perception of sugar reduction based on the practice of Dietary Action Guides among the college students in Cheongju. A convenience sample of 343 healthy college students(male n=195, female n=148) was divided into two subgroups based on a median split(male M=12, female M=11) of the extent to which they practice the Dietary Action Guides: low practice(LP) group(male n=117, female n=82) and high practice(HP) group(male n=78, female n=66). There was no significant difference in age, weight, and body mass index between the groups; however, among the female students, the LP group had significantly higher frequencies of snacking and smoking, and higher sweet taste perception. For both male and female students, the LP group were more likely to eat sweet snacks such as carbonated beverage, flavored milk, and snacks sold outside, and had significantly higher total sugar intake from the sweet snacks than the HP group. The percentage of exceeding the WHO recommended daily sugar intake (50 g) was significantly higher for the LP group(36.59%) than for the HP group(13.64%) among female students. The perceived necessity of the sugar intake reduction was not significantly different between the LP and HP groups. The identification of nutrition labels when purchasing snack was significantly lower for the LP group than for the HP group regardless of gender. The necessity of nutrition labels education was higher than 80 percent for both the groups. Based on these results, encouraging the practice of Dietary Action Guides seems to be helpful in reducing the sugar intake among the college students.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.355-372
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to provide baseline data for establishing a sugar reduction policy at coffee shops by analyzing the factors that affect a coffee shop user's perception and behavioral intention of reducing sugar intake. Methods: An online survey was conducted involving 1,274 Daegu citizens aged 19-49 years, who had visited coffee shops within the last month. Results: When visiting a coffee shop, the purchase of sweet drinks was higher in the younger age group, and the addition of syrup or sugar was higher in the older age group. Of the total respondents, 42.1% were aware that some coffee shops accommodate reduced sugar requests, 57.9% perceived the need to reduce sugar in coffee shop beverages and 22.3% had purchased beverages intending to reduce their sugar intake. In addition, 59.7% knew about sugar nutrition labeling, and 68.8% perceived the need for nutrition labeling for sugar. When purchasing beverages, 35.6% checked the nutrition labeling, and 77.2% purchased alternative drinks when the sugar content was high. Guiding the choice of sweetness levels in coffee shop orders was seen to have the highest effectiveness and intention to reduce sugar intake. Moreover, the perceived need to reduce sugar intake had the most positive effect on the behavioral intention to reduce sugars in coffee shop beverages (β = 0.558, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Although the overall awareness and practice of reducing the sugar intake in coffee shop users were low, the behavioral intention to reduce sugars was positive, and this was most affected by the perception of the need to reduce sugars. Therefore, there is a need for differentiated education and promotion for each age group for recognizing the necessity and outlining methods for reducing sugar intake. Furthermore, coffee shops should reflect customer's sugar reduction needs.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.303-318
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• 2020

Purpose: This study examined the effects of nutritional education related to sugar in elementary school children on nutritional knowledge, attitude, and dietary behavior. Methods: A questionnaire survey on the knowledge, attitudes, and intake related to sugar was conducted on 572 students in grades 4-5, who were attending five elementary schools in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. Results: Among the survey subjects, 270 (49.8%) were cognitive in education, and 302 (50.2%) were non-cognitive. The sugar-related knowledge score was 3.67 points in the cognitive education group, which was significantly higher than the 3.55 points in the non-cognitive group. The rate of checking the sugar content in the nutrition label was 31.2% in the cognitive education group, which was significantly higher than in the non-cognitive group, 15.4%. The cognitive education group had a higher intake frequency of unsweetened candy, jelly, and raw fruits, and higher sugar intake of unsweetened bread, white milk, and raw fruits than the non-cognitive group. In the case of the cognitive education group, the total knowledge score showed a positive correlation with the food behavior scores, and a negative correlation with the frequency of purchasing snacks after school, and the average sugar intake per day. In the cognitive education group only, the education of nutrition teachers was analyzed as a factor to reduce the total sugar intake. The cognitive group of sugar education tried to eat foods with a lower sugar content than the non-cognitive group, and nutrition education was an important factor affecting the sugar intake. Conclusion: To reduce the sugar intake of elementary school students, it will be necessary to practice oriented-nutrition education by nutrition teachers continuously. In addition, it is important to develop and disseminate various types of nutrition education materials related to sugar that can be utilized easily by nutrition teachers.