• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.226-233
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• 2011

Objectives: Being overweight or obese is central to metabolic syndrome, and these characteristics constitute dominant risk factors for chronic diseases. Although behavioral factors, including eating habits and sedentary lifestyles, are considered to be determinants of obesity, the specific childhood factors that contribute to this condition have not been clearly defined. Methods: The subjects consisted of 261 children aged 7- 9 years who were recruited from an elementary school during October 2003. Information was obtained from their parents using a questionnaire focused on eating behaviors and lifestyle factors, additional data were also collected via anthropometric measurements and biochemical examinations, including blood tests. Results: A total of 48 (18.4%) of the 261 children were overweight, and 34 (70.8%) had at least one other component of metabolic syndrome. Eating behaviors emerged as significant lifestyle-related risk factors for being overweight or obese. Those who engaged in overeating more than twice per week had three times the risk of being overweight (odds ratio [OR], 3.10, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.39 to 6.92), and those who ate rapidly had three times the risk of being overweight (OR, 3.28; 95% CI, 1.68 to 6.41). Those who had fewer family meals (fewer than 2?3/month) had a nine times higher risk of being overweight than those who had family meals more frequently (at least 1/day) (OR, 9.51; 95% CI, 1.21 to 74.82). Conclusions: This study showed that being overweight or obese during preadolescence is associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome and is related to unhealthy eating behaviors. Thus, weight-control strategies and healthy eating behaviors should be developed early in life to reduce the risk for metabolic syndrome.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.87-96
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• 2018

Purpose: The aim of this study is to identify Korean high school students' health behaviors and perceived stress and to examine effects of their health behaviors on their stress perception. Methods: The subjects were 33,744 high school students who participated in the 11th Korea youth risk behavior web-based survey 2015 in Korea. Data were analyzed using complex samples analysis with the PASW 18.0 program. The questionnaire utilized in this study is designed to find the subjects' general characteristics, health behaviors, and perceived stress. Results: The prevalence of subjects with high level stress was 38.9% (n=13,137) in this study. There were significant differences in the general characteristics and stress perception among the Korean high school students in terms of gender, grade, school achievement, family's affluence, mother's education, perceived happiness, perceived health status, and stressor. The variables of health behaviors of Korean high school students were significantly different from stress perception. Under complex samples logistic regression, predictive factors of stress for the high school students include gender, grade, father's education, family's affluence, living arrangement, perceived health status, perceived happiness, current smoking, current alcohol experience, and enough sleep. Conclusion: The study suggests multilateral efforts are needed to help high school students' stress management including health behaviors for high school students.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.299-309
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between sexual intercourse and experience of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs use among adolescents in South Korea. Methods: This study used the data of the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey from 2010 through 2014. The subjects of this study were 367,562 students (Male 187,610, Female 179,952). The subjects' general characteristics and their sexual experiences according to their general characteristics were analyzed using frequency analysis. The relationship between sexual intercourse and the use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs was analyzed through multiple logistic regression. The analyses were conducted using SPSS 18.0. Results: According to the study, the significant predictors of sexual intercourse were gender, grade, parents' educational level, residence type, economic status, and substance abuse. Adolescents who had used alcohol, tobacco, and drugs were more likely to have had sexual intercourse than their peers who hadn't use the substances. Conclusion: The results suggest that factors that increase the risk of having premature sex should be managed and prevented systematically. Among the factors, in particular, drinking, smoking, and drug use require intensive management.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.613-621
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• 2019

Objectives: This study was performed to examine the relationship between health behaviors, living environment, and asthma in adolescents in Korea. Methods: Information on adolescents' characteristics, including demographic factors, health behaviors, and doctor's diagnosis of asthma was obtained from the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (2015). In total, 68,043 middle and high school students participated. Environmental characteristics, including city park area and outdoor PM₁₀ concentrations in 2015 were obtained from the Korean Statistical Information Service. The adolescents' and environmental characteristics were merged by local information. Multiple logistic regression models were used to investigate the risk factors affecting asthma in adolescents. Results: The prevalence of asthma in adolescents in 2015 was 8.8%. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, adolescents who were male, attended middle school, suffered obesity, experienced tobacco smoking, had physical activity levels of 2 to 4 days, had higher stress levels, and lived in areas with outdoor PM₁₀ concentrations more than 47 ㎍/㎥ were more likely to have asthma, while adolescents who had middle levels of family economic status were less likely to do so. Conclusions: The fact that PM₁₀ concentration can affect asthma is an important point in this study. Risk factors identified in this study could be used as basic data for the prevention and management of asthma in Korea.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.509-520
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• 2019

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated whether a mobile health (mHealth) application can instigate healthy behavioral changes and improvements in metabolic disorders in individuals with metabolic abnormalities. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Participants were divided into an mHealth intervention group (IG), which used a mobile app for 24 weeks, and a conventional IG. All mobile apps featured activity monitors, with blood pressure and glucose monitors, and body-composition measuring devices. The two groups were compared after 24 weeks in terms of health-behavior practice rate and changes in the proportion of people with health risks, and health behaviors performed by the IG that contributed to reductions in more than one health risk factor were analyzed using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: Preference for low-sodium diet, reading nutritional facts, having breakfast, and performing moderate physical activity significantly increased in the mHealth IG. Furthermore, the mHealth IG showed a significant increase of eight items in the mini-dietary assessment; particularly, the items "I eat at least two types of vegetables of various colors at every meal" and "I consume dairies, such as milk, yogurt, and cheese, every day." The proportion of people with health risks, with the exception of fasting glucose, significantly decreased in the mHealth IG, while only the proportion of people with at-risk triglycerides and waist circumference of females significantly decreased in the control group. Finally, compared to those who did not show improvements of health risks, those who showed improvements of health risks in the mHealth IG had an odds ratio of 1.61 for moderate to vigorous physical activity, 1.65 for "I do not add more salt or soy sauce in my food," and 1.77 for "I remove fat in my meat before eating." CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the additional use of a community-based mHealth service through a mobile application is effective for improving health behaviors and lowering metabolic risks in Koreans.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.107-111
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• 2008

Water quality contamination issues are of critical concern to human health, whilst pesticide release generated from irrigated land should be considered for protecting natural habitats and human health. This paper suggests new method for evaluation and analysis using the GIS technique based on integrated spatial modeling framework. The pesticide use on irrigated land is a subset of the larger spectrum of industrial chemicals used in modern society. The behavior of a pesticide is affected by the natural affinity of the chemical for one of four environmental compartments; solid matter, liquid, gaseous form, and biota. However, the major movements are a physical transport over the ground surface by rainfall-runoff and irrigation-runoff. The irrigated water carries out with the transporting sediments and makes contaminated water by pesticide. This paper focuses on risk impact identification and assessment using GIS technique. Also, generated data on pesticide residues on farmland and surface water through GIS simulation will be reflected to environmental research programs. Finally, this study indicates that GIS application is a beneficial tool for spatial pesticide impact analysis as well as environmental risk assessment.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.274-284
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects and characteristics of health care programs for pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in Korea. Methods: This study was conducted according to the Cochrane Collaboration's systematic literature review handbook and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guideline. We searched eight international and domestic electronic databases for relevant studies. Two reviewers independently selected the studies and extracted data. For each study, information on the research method, participants, characteristics of the program, and results were extracted using a previously established coding table. The National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency's risk of bias assessment tool for non-randomized studies was used to assess the risk of bias of the included articles. A qualitative review of the selected studies was performed because the interventions differed considerably and the measured outcomes varied. Results: Out of 128 initially identified papers, seven were included in the final analysis. The risk of bias was evaluated as generally low. Health care programs for pregnant women with GDM showed positive effects on blood glucose control. Anxiety and depression were reduced, and self-management and self-care behavior, self-efficacy, and maternal identity improved. Conclusion: Our study provides clinical evidence for the effectiveness of health care programs for pregnant women with GDM, and its results can be used to support the development of health care programs for GDM. More well-designed research is needed on GDM, especially studies that deal with emotional stress and apply a family-oriented approach.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.193-199
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• 2017

The objective of this research is to investigate how consumers react differently to financial and social risk/return, referred to as an 'asymmetric effect'. A lab-based experiment using a counterfeit but real-branded product examined the robustness of the statement that priming the interdependent versus independent self can result in differences in financial and social risk taking behavior in the context of counterfeit product purchase choice. Three hundred fifty-eight participants took part in the experiment. They were primed with different self-construal and evaluated purchase intention to the counterfeit product. As predicted, when evaluate in the context of loss claim of counterfeit product, risks were more activated, however, there was an asymmetric effect that self-construal priming had on financial and social risks. Interdependence primed participants were more likely to take a financial risk thus perform more purchase intention of counterfeit product and less likely to take a social risk than their independence primed counterparts, which led to lower purchase intention. The results of this research shed light on the various directions of future studies on the responses toward counterfeit product.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.41-79
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• 2011

This study examines the compensation scheme for the executives and risk-taking behavior in the Korean banks. Theoretically, shareholders prefer risky asset choice to the optimal one due to the limited liability feature of reward, and stock-based executive compensation may induce choices favorable to the shareholder. We empirically test this risk-taking hypothesis using Korean banks' data. Since only the stock option data is available under the current disclosure system, we limit our analysis to examine the relationship between the compensation through stock option and the risk of banks. The result provides no evidence that stock option compensations increase the risk of banks, which is contrary to the theoretical prediction and preceding studies in the US. This may be due to any factor that the executive reward data omit, or regulation effects on the bank management.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.29-44
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• 2022

Background: This study was conducted to analyze the impact of having a usual source of care on health behaviors of the middle aged and the elderly, in order to investigate the potential effect of enhancing primary health care in a Korean context. Methods: This study constructed a balanced panel of middle-aged and elderly samples using the Korea Health Panel 2016-2018, and fixed-effect models were used to analyze the data. Results: Among three sets of dependent variables (physical activity, smoking, drinking), statistically significant results were found only in physical activity. Subgroup analysis showed that this effect was not observed in the late elderly (aged 75 and older) and those without chronic diseases. Conclusion: Results of the study implied that enhancing primary health care among middle age and the elderly may have an effect on improving health behaviors. Moving forward to person-centered primary health care from disease-focused primary health care should be considered in high-risk groups such as the middle aged and the elderly with chronic diseases.