• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.603-614
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• 2005

This study was performed to investigate the correlation between Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and nutritional intake, blood composition of female students. One hundred and one female students were selected as the experimental subjects at Gyeongsang National University. To assess the PMS symptoms of the subjects, a questionnaire (PAP) score based on the methods of Halbreich, Endicor and Nee was prepared with 34 different items. Dietary survey was conducted by 24­hour recall method for 3 days and nutrient intakes were analyzed by the CAN-Pro. Blood composition of WBC, RBC, Hb, Hct, Ca and Mg was measured. The average height, weight and BMI of subjects were $160.7\pm4.6cm,\;54.1\pm5.7kg\;and\;21.2\pm1.9$, respectively. Average intakes of energy, calcium, iron, zinc, vit $B_2$, and folic acid per day were $1810.2\pm344.9kcal(90.5\%\;of\;RDA),\;621.1\;197.3mg(88.7\%\;of\;RDA),\;15.9\;pm4.9mg\;(99.3\%\;of\;RDA),\;8.1\pm3.4mg(80.5\%\;of\;RDA),\;1.1\pm0.6mg(88.3\%\;of\;RDA)\;and\;234.3\pm78.6{\mu}g(93.7\%\;of\;RDA)$, respectively. Score of the behavioral symptoms, psychologic symptoms, physical symptoms and other symptoms were recorded $1.79\pm0.86,\;2.11\pm1.08,\;2.31\pm1.11\;and\;1.58\pm0.86$, respectively. The relation between PMS and menstrual cramps was significant. A significant difference was observed for menstruation amount in physical symptoms (p<0.05) and other scores (p<0.05). The group who drinks alcohol over 30g per day showed higher scores at total PAP (p<0.05), psychologic symptoms (p<0.05), physical symptoms (p<0.05), and other scores (p<0.05) than those who don't drink alcohol. Calcium in the blood showed a negative correlation with total PAF score (p<0.05), behavioral symptoms (p<0.05), physical symptoms (p<0.05) and other scores (p<0.01). Magnesium in the blood showed a negative correlation with physical symptoms (p<0.05), other score (p<0.05). WBC was negatively associated with psychologic scores (p<0.05). Hb and Hct were negatively associated with other scores (p<0.05). In conclusion, calcium intake showed a level of $88.7\%$ of RDA and this study revealed that there is a correlation between PMS and blood composition in female college students. Therefore, calcium and magnesium supplements can be beneficial to relieve PMS symptoms.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.405-416
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• 2007

This study was to examine the needs among elementary school dietitians (n = 115) for developing a nutrition information internet site for children. A survey questionnaire included general characteristics, internet use regarding health and nutrition information, and needs for developing a nutrition information site. The mean age of the subjects was 36.2 years. The higher working experience group (> 10 years of working as dieticians) had higher mean age (p < 0.001), had a larger number of enrolled students at school (p < 0.01) and the number of those receiving school lunch (p < 0.01) than the counterparts (${\le}10$ years group). Sources of health and nutrition information were mainly PC/internet (60.4%) and seminar (14.4%). About 95% used health or nutrition information using the internet, however, the majority of users (71.6%) used internet information only when they needed it. Major reasons for using internet information was 'to get nutrition education materials' (63.8%) and 'to obtain general nutrition information' (21%). One third of the subjects were satisfied with nutrition information internet sites; major problems with internet sites were 'lack of content' (38.9%) and 'lack of practical information' (33%). These characteristics regarding internet use were not different between work experience groups. Major problems with nutrition education were 'lack of nutrition educational materials' (41.1 %) and 'lack of nutrition education skills' (32.1%). These were significantly different between the work experience groups (p < 0.01). Subjects preferred CD/internet to leaflet/booklet as nutrition educational materials. In developing nutrition sites for children, subjects wanted topics such as obesity assessment, dietary assessment, and obesity. Subjects responded that contents of nutrition information should be 'suitable to the children's knowledge levels' (31.1%), 'interesting enough by including quizzes, games and songs' (27.8%), 'inserting many illustrations/icons' (16.3%). In terms of designing internet sites for children, they wanted that internet sites should 'be easy enough to find the sites' (29.2%), 'use illustrations and characters' (24.8%), 'use communication channels such as Q&A' (18.7%). Needs for developing internet sites for children were not different by the work experience group. This study suggests that web sites for children should be carefully developed considering the contents and design, have less information with more illustrations, designed to induce the interest of children, as well as including sections such as eating habit assessment and games.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.31 no.4 s.63
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• pp.828-843
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• 1998

To find the association of perception of health status with lifestyle of different ethnic groups living in north-eastern part of China, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was done by 10 local health workers for 375 Korean immigrants and 217 Chinese whose age was 30 years old or more. Because Korean immigrants showed higher mortality than Chinese, we expected to find significant lifestyle related with perception of health status which was known to be a predictor of mortality by different ethnic groups. The results were as follows : 1. We found that 59.7% of Yanbian Koreans and 42.9% of Yanbian Chinese felt unhealthy (p=0.000). 2. For Yanbian Koreans, significant variables associated with perception of health status were selected through logistic regression analysis and they were sex; female to male with an OR=2.45 (95% confidence interval[CI] 1.06, 5.64), prevalence of chronic illness with an OR=5.48 (95% CI: 4.62, 15.56), mont of meal; small or moderate to full with an OR=2.67 (95% CI : 1.40, 5.09), preference of spicy food with an OR=1.78 (95% CI : 1.04, 3.04), and less amount intake of vitamin $B_2$, with an OR=2.29 (95% CI : 1.33, 3.93). 3. For Yanbian Chinese, significant variables associated with perception of health status were prevalence of chronic illness with an OR=4.97 (95% CI : 2.11, 11.68), history of taking ginseng with an OR=3.72 (95% CI : 1.33, 10.43), and less intake of vitamin C with an OR=0.18 (95% CI : 0.07, 0.46). In conclusion, sex, presence of chronic illness, dietary habit, and amount of $vitamin-B_1$ intake were associated with perception of health status in Yanbian Koreans. Presence of chronic illness, experience of ginseng intake, and amount of vitamin C intake were associated with perception of health status in Yanbian Chinese. To prove cause-effect relation between perception of health status and lifestyle, further study is needed for these different ethnic groups.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.135-148
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• 2010

Objectives: In this study, knowledge of environmental disease, experience of environmental health education and necessity of environmental health education of elementary school pupils were compared and analyzed. Methods: The population of this study was from grade 1 to 6 elementary school pupils in Ulsan city, Korea. Five elementary schools were randomly selected from Ulsan City. Seven hundred and twenty-eight responses from the five schools were analyzed (seventy-two were excluded). A self-administered questionnaire measuring sociodemographic variables, Knowledge of environment related disease(atopic dermatitis, asthma etc), as well as educational experience and necessity of environmental health education was analyzed. The survey results were analyzed using SPSS-PC Program 12.0 and the following results by implementing Frequency Analysis, Cross-tabulation Analysis and ANOVA are as follows. Result: Pupils of lower grades more informed than those of higher grades about atopic dermatitis. Among asthma sufferers, many responded that symptoms occurred or improved during the lower grades of elementary school. In terms of the lifestyles of patients with atopic dermatitis or asthma, female pupils, especially those in the lower grades, tended to make changes in their daily habits based on their disease. Also, parents tended to intervene/mediate more in the dietary habits and personal hygiene habits of lower-grade pupils compared to their higher-grade counterparts. Personal hygiene education is currently not provided in schools, and upper-grade pupils have more experience with personal hygiene education compared to lower grade pupils. 430 (59.0%) of pupils replied that education about personal hygiene is necessary in their curriculum. 490 (67.3%) of elementary pupils are aware of the close connection between education in hygiene and human health. When asked if education in hygiene should also be undertaken by teachers and parents, 406 (55.7%) students said that it should be done. Conclusions: Developing a concrete health education program and raising instructors' awareness of the necessity for education in hygiene. Placement of professionals in the personal hygiene education field, is important to provide good health education for elementary school pupils.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.132-140
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• 2003

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of soymilk and exercise on bone mineral density (BMD) in underweight college women of 19-22 years of age, who had lower bone mass. The BMD of the lumbar spine and femoral neck was measured for 52 underweight college women. Among them, 33 subjects, whose t-score value was below -1, were selected. Questionnaire survey, anthropometrical measurements, dietary recall, analysis of BMD, fasting serum osteocalcin and urinary deoxypyridinoline (DPD) were conducted before and after the 10 week study. The 33 subjects were divided into 2 groups： soymilk group (n=19), and soymilk ＋ exercise group (n=14). The soymilk group was given 400$m\ell$ soymilk containing 60mg of isoflavones on a daily basis and the soymilk ＋ exercise group exercised three times a week with a daily intake of 400$m\ell$ soymilk for 10 weeks. The average ages of the soymilk group and the soymilk ＋ exercise group were 21.1 years and 20.4 years, respectively and, there were no significant differences between the soymilk group and the soymilk ＋ exercise group in the areas of height, weight or Body Mass Index (BMI). At the baseline, the mean daily energy intake of the soymilk group and the soymilk ＋ exercise group was 1,597.9kcal (79.43％ of RDA) and 1,704.2kcal (85.2％ of RDA), respectively. The mean calcium intake of the soymilk group (408.3mg) was not significantly different from that of the soymilk ＋ exercise group (389.4mg). Despite the 400$m\ell$ soymilk supplementation, there were no significant changes of nutrient intake in either group after treatment. However, there were significant increases in BMD's of lumbar spine and femoral neck in both groups. There were some increases in the serum osteocalcin level and decreases in the urinary deoxypyridinoline level as well. BMD change of the soymilk group was not significantly different from that of the soymilk ＋ exercise group. In conclusion, supplementary intake of soymilk (containing 60mg of isoflavones) resulted in a significant increase in the BMD's of the lumbar spine and femoral neck in underweight college women with low bone mass. However, exercise did not result in any significant changes in the BMD's, implying the necessity for more intensive and specific long-term physical training for any substantial changes. Further investigation is necessary to determine the exercise that most strongly affects BMD.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.206-226
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of eating with family or alone on the self-rated mental or physical health and then work out strategies of making people recognize the importance of eating with family and its practice. Study subjects were 610 primary school 5th- and 6th-grade students in Daejeon Area. A questionnaire survey was carried out. 57.9% of students had working mothers. The frequency of meal in a day was $2.90{\pm}0.42$ and this frequency was lower in students who had working mothers (p < 0.05). The frequency of skipping breakfast (times/week) was $1.02{\pm}1.77$. The frequencies of eating alone (times/week) were $1.04{\pm}1.65$ for breakfast and $0.97{\pm}1.52$ for dinner. Also, the frequency of eating alone for dinner was higher in students who had working mothers (p < 0.001). When the frequency of eating alone for breakfast or dinner was higher, the frequencies of skipping breakfast and dinner were also higher (for all, p <0.01). When the frequency of eating alone for breakfast or dinner was higher, the self-rated positive mental health were lower (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively) and the self-rated negative mental health (for dinner, p < 0.05) and the self-rated negative physical health was higher (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively), thus presenting negative health. The frequencies of eating with family (times/week) were $3.37{\pm}2.50$ for breakfast and $4.14{\pm}2.19$ for dinner. Also, the frequency of eating with family for dinner was lower in students who had working mothers (p < 0.01). When the frequency of eating with family for breakfast was higher, the frequency of skipping breakfast was lower (p < 0.01). When the frequency of eating with family for dinner was higher, the frequency of skipping dinner was lower (p <0.01). In addition, when the frequency of eating with family for breakfast or dinner was higher, the self-rated positive mental health were higher (for both, p <0.01) and the self-rated negative mental health was lower (for breakfast, p < 0.01) and self-rated negative physical health were lower (for both, p <0.01), thus presenting positive health. Therefore, in order to maintain positive health, it is necessary to recognize the importance of eating with family at home and educate people to carry out a systematic and continuous dietary life, thus increasing eating with family and reducing eating alone and skipping a meal.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.10
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• pp.1103-1108
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• 2009

Purpose: Recently, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been increasingly used in children. Studies have shown that 34% of adults and 11% of children use CAM in the USA and Canada. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and patterns of CAM use in elementary children in Korea. Methods:From July to August 2007, parents of elementary children completed a questionnaire survey at Gwang-ju. In all, 794 questionnaires were analyzed. Results:Of the 794 respondents, 278 answered that their pupils (35%) had experienced CAM. The following types of CAM therapy were used: herbal medicine, 62.5% dietary supplements, 31.2% vitamins, 30.2% and acupuncture, 11.1%. CAM therapies were used for the following diseases: nutritional deficiency, 33.3% atopic dermatitis, 31.3% arthralgia, 31.3% allergic rhinitis, 28.8% obesity, 26.3% and asthma. The following were the motives to use CAM: prevention of diseases (33.5%), dissatisfaction with modern medicine (21.2%), and complementary therapy to modern medicine (20.5%). People gained information about CAM through neighbors (65%) and mass media (21%). Moreover, 83 parents (30%) were satisfied with CAM because of its effectiveness. Conclusion:Many parents have advocated the use of CAM in their children. However, most of them used CAM without any prescription or adequate knowledge. Further studies are required to determine the efficacy of CAM.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.264-274
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• 2016

It is a trend that carbonated drink intake among adolescents is increasing, which makes young people more vulnerable to dental erosion. However, in Korea, public knowledge about dental erosion is very insufficient. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of dental erosion and to assess its risk indicators among 13-15 years old students in Yangsan, Korea. A total of 1,371 adolescents were examined by one calibrated clinician. Dental erosion was assessed by using the Visual Erosion Dental Examination system. Correlation between their dietary habit, oral hygiene and dental erosion was assessed. The data showed that 676 (49.3%) adolescents had dental erosion. The prevalence of dental erosion was significantly higher in females than in males. The prevalence of tooth erosion in mandible is higher than in maxilla. Dental erosion was generalized to develop mostly on anterior teeth, especially lateral incisor, however, the severity score was highest in canines. Following questionnaire analysis, dental erosion was significantly associated with milk and flavored milk. No other associations were detected. The prevalence of dental erosion in this study is higher than those of previous reports. On the contrary to previously reported studies, the prevalence of dental erosion in females is higher than in males.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.469-478
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• 2006

In order to investigate the adolescent's beverage drinking pattern and its related ecological factors, a questionnaire survey was conducted with the subjects of 920 middle and high-school students,450 boys and 470 girls, residing in 4 cities of the Chungnam area. Of the subjects 65% liked, or liked very much, beverages and only 3.7% did not like beverages. They drank beverages 4.3 $\pm$ 4.0 times a week on average, but 10.4% of them drank beverages more than twice a day. Male students drank more frequently than the females. The intake frequency of carbonated drinks was 1.7 $\pm$ 2.3 a week which was about 40% of the total beverages. However, more students drank mainly ion beverages (33.6%) than carbonated drinks (28.7%). As the students took more balanced food and ate more regularly, their beverage drinking frequency decreased and those taking carbonated drinks also tended to decrease. The more frequent the students took fast food, the more frequent they drank carbonated beverages. The drinking frequencies for beverages or carbonated beverages were also less in students eating cooked rice with sidedishes as breakfast than in students eating others. The drinking frequency for carbonated drinks showed significant correlations with the students' activities such as the time spent using computers and watching TV got longer, the drinking frequency for soft drinks was also higher. When nutritional knowledge was higher, drinking frequency for carbonated drinks got lower. In conclusion, to make the adolescents improve their attitudes toward drinking beverages and to prevent excessive drinking of carbonated drinks, they should be educated not only on the nutritional knowledge and the proper intake of beverages, but also on good dietary habits including balance, regularity, and types of meals. Proper snacking and fast food consumption also should be taught. Since ion beverages were taken more frequently than carbonated drinks among adolescents, further study is recommended on the impact of excessive intake of ion beverages.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.648-658
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between eating habits and health among adolescents in Shanghai and Heze, China. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013 on 2,089 adolescents; 1,089 students were from Shanghai and 999 students from Heze region. Eating habits, weight, height, and nutritional knowledge were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. Eating habits score was classified into two categories: healthy eating habits and unhealthy eating habits, based on "Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey", for statistical data analysis. Associations between eating habits, BMI, and nutritional knowledge were examined using a general linear model with adjustment of potential confounding factors such as region, gender, age, parents' education level, and pocket money. Statistical analyses were performed using the SAS (version 9.3) program. Proportions of healthy eating habits group were 90.0% for breakfast (3-7 times/wk), 29.1% for fruit (${\geq}once/d$), 12.5% for vegetable (${\geq}3times/d$), 7.3% for milk (${\geq}2times/d$), 90.0% for fast food (<3 times/wk) consumption, respectively. The average BMI score was 20.1 (Shanghai 20.5 Heze 19.6), which is in the range of normal weight. Rates of obesity and overweight were 16.5% and 8.3% in Shanghai and Heze, respectively. There were significant negative correlations between intake frequencies of breakfast, fast food, biscuits, sugar, chocolate, and BMI score. Eating habits and nutritional knowledge score showed a significant positive correlation. These results showed better eating habits regarding eating regularity and consumption of fruits and soft drinks in Chinese adolescents compared with Korean adolescents, although cultural differences were not fully considered. This study demonstrated significant associations of BMI and nutritional knowledge with dietary behavior in Chinese adolescents in two regions of China. Further studies on Chinese adolescents from other regions in China should be considered.