• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.11-20
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine mothers' eating behavior and salty taste and its relationship to their preschool children's eating behaviors. Methods: This survey was conducted by self-report after getting permission from sixty one mothers who had preschool children. The questionnaire was focused on mothers' salty test and salt-related eating behavior of both mothers and their preschool children. Results: Comparison of eating behavior score between mother and their preschoolers showed that mothers' score was lower than their preschoolers' one. Salty foods with high preference and intake frequency by mothers and preschoolers were 'salted dry fish, stock fish' and 'soup, stew, noodle soup'. In addition, there were strong positive correlations between preference and intake frequency on most of the salty food items. Intake of Ramen soup was significantly different (p < 0.001) between the two groups. Preschoolers ate less ramen soup compared to their mothers. Conclusions: Overall results showed that preschoolers' dietary behavior was better than the mothers' one. However, preschoolers' dietary behavior was significantly influenced by their mothers. Therefore, mothers should have an appropriate eating behavior in order to have a positive influence on their children's eating habits. In addition, the results suggested that proper nutrition education is needed for mothers of preschool children.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.350-357
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• 2009

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the effectiveness of a salt reduction education program. Subjects participating in this study were 251 employees (166 in the "educated" group, 85 in the "non-educated" group) at 8 hospital and industry food service operations in Daegu. After the salt reduction education program was carried out, a salty taste assessment of both groups was conducted. The educated group had statistically significant differences and the noneducated group did not have statistically significant differences. In terms of nutrition knowledge, while the nutrition knowledge of the educated group was increased (p < 0.001), that of the non-educated group rose at a rate of 0.92. In terms of dietary attitude, the educated group exhibited increased preference toward less salty foods when compared to the noneducated group (p < 0.001). Regarding dietary behavior, the score of the educated group was improved (p < 0.001), thereby indicating a preference for less salty taste. This means that nutrition education had influence on dietary behavior. However, after education, sodium excretion for the educated group was not significantly decreased, compared to before education. The results show that there was a positive correlation between salty taste assessment and dietary attitude and behavior for a high-salt diet. There was a positive relationship between attitude for a high-salt diet and sodium intake; when people prefere a more salty taste, they eat more sodium. Therefore, in order to change dietary preference away from salty taste and to decrease sodium intake, a nationwide, systematic and continuous salt reduction education program is needed.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.216-227
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to develop a nutrition education program for dietary salt reduction using various nutrition education materials. The effect of a 5-week nutrition education program on salty taste assessment, nutrition knowledge, salt attitude for a high-salt diet, salt content in food, and individual satisfaction with the salt concentration of meals during the education period was evaluated. Nutrition education materials included two animations, a pamphlet, panels, and a website, as well as other training resources. Subjects participating in this study were 335 employees (164 male, 171 female) at 15 foodservice operations in Daegu. Preference for higher levels of salty taste and food containing higher amounts of salt were lowered. Knowledge regarding the necessity for dietary salt reduction was higher (p < 0.001) than before nutrition education, and salt content in a meal was reduced. As the program progressed, average salt concentrations of soups were significantly lowered (p < 0.05), and there was greater satisfaction with the lower concentration (p < 0.001). This was a positive indication of the program's success. In addition, it was found that subjects who participated in the program several times have changed their preference to lower levels of salty taste and have increased their nutrition knowledge (p < 0.05, p < 0.001). Thus, the positive effect of this 5-week nutrition education program developed for, and applied to, foodservice employees, concerning dietary salt reduction was confirmed.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.555-564
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze the assessment of salty taste and high-salt dietary behaviors of Korean university students and their Chinese counterparts. The researchers developed a taste assessment computer program focusing on preference for salty taste, and it was applied to 300 university students, including 100 Korean students, and 100 Chinese students in Daegu of South Korea, and 100 Chinese students in Shenyang of China (144 males and 156 females). The results of the taste assessment of Chinese and Korean university students are as follows. Among males, Koreans (36.0%), Chinese students in Korea (36.2%), and Chinese (40.4%) scored highest in the "a bit salty" followed by "normal." Among females, Koreans (36.0%), Chinese students in Korea (49.1%), and Chinese (28.3%) scored highest in the "normal". In terms of salt concentration in solution, among the male subjects, most Koreans favored the salt concentration of 0.31%, which is considered to be a "normal" concentration; most Chinese students in Korea favored 0.63%, which is considered to be "a bit salty", and most Chinese favored the concentration of 1.25%, which is considered to be "salty". As for the female subjects, Koreans, Chinese students studying abroad, and Chinese favored 0.31%, the "normal" level of concentration. Korean students scored higher than Chinese students in Korea and Chinese students both in males and females (p < 0.001, p < 0.01), in terms of high-salt dietary behaviors favored salty taste. This study suggests that Chinese university students need nutrition education in terms of modifying eating behaviors to reduce dietary salt intake.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.17-28
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• 2000

This paper is an effort to describe dietary behaviors to keep them healthy among adults. A probability sample was drawn from residents aged between 15 and 60 living in Ulsan City area through a multi-staged cluster sampling method. The data collected by face-to-face interview includes 1,232 respondents. Both univariate and bivariate analyses were employed to describe the dietary behaviors. The dietary behaviors in this study includes preference of taking fat-part of meat, fried food, salty food, hot-taste food, drinking coffee and milk, and taking supplementary medicine. About half of the respondents reported to take fat removed when eating meat, and more than 68% of them preferred not to take any kinds of fried food. With respect to preference of salty and hot-taste food, 39.6% of the respondents take medium-salty and 39.4% do hot-taste food. A third of the respondents drink two-four cups of coffee a day. Those who reported not to drink milk at all were prevalent(37.4% of the respondents) than expected. However, less than 20% of the respondents reported to have any kinds of supplementary health food in a year. These dietary behaviors were examined by sociodemographic characteristics for bivariate analyses.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.223-232
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• 2013

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of salt (NaCl) recognition threshold and pleasant salt concentrations of Korean rural elderly subjects on preference of salty food as well as food group consumption patterns. The subjects were 213 elderly people (male 71 and female 142) over 65 and under 90 yr of age from Sunchang area. The higher values were found with male subjects in the areas of basic taste recognition threshold and pleasant concentration level of salt. The taste sensitivity scores of male subjects did not decrease with the increasing age, but female subjects exhibited a significant decrease with the age. The major determinant factor of salt preference of the elderly subjects in this study appeared to be personal pleasant concentration of salt rather than salt recognition threshold level and this trend was more evident in males than in females. The subject group of lower salt pleasant concentration i.e. consuming less salt showed the higher number of fruit and fruit juice intakes per week, and higher MNA (define this) scores were implying that they display more desirable nutritional status. Therefore, nutritional education focused on not only a variety of food consumption but also lowering pleasant salt concentration levels is advised to improve the quality of nutrition in the elderly.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.659-665
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• 2012

This study investigated the effect of salt preference on dietary habits and the body composition of university students. The subjects were divided into two groups: 85 students who dislike salt (salt-dislike (SD) group) and 104 students who like salt (salt-like (SL) group). We found that the SL group showed a higher preference for sweet, sour, spicy, and bitter flavors compared to the SD group. There was no significant difference in the frequency of eating breakfast according to the salt taste preference. The meal speed of the SL group was significantly higher than the SD group (p<0.01) and the body mass index of the SL group ($22.59kg/m^2$) was higher than SD group ($21.04kg/m^2$). The fat mass of the SL group (15.30 kg) was higher than the SD group (12.80 kg) (p<0.01). Salt preference and snack intake frequency had a significant and positive correlation with fat mass. The frequency of eating breakfast, and meal speed also showed a significant and positive correlation with subcutaneous fat. In conclusion, the SL group eats relatively more, speedily and frequently intakes snacks and carbonated drinks, likely resulting in higher body and subcutaneous fat. These results suggest salt preference is related to food choice, influences unreasonable eating habits, and possibly changes body composition. Taste preferences should therefore be considered for dietary consulting and nutritional education.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.269-280
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between HMR use and eating habits in young Korean adults. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 575 adults (232 men, 343 women) in their 20s and 30s in Korea. Their use of HMRs (classified as ready-to-eat, ready-to-cook, and fresh convenience foods) and eating habits were surveyed. The main reasons for HMR use by men and women were convenience (54.7%, 64.4%) and promptness (24.2%, 24.2%), respectively. The most frequent place for HMR purchase was a convenience store (74.1% and 65.0%, respectively). Regarding the frequency of HMR use, 1~2 times a week was the highest for ready-to-eat (40.9%) and ready-to-cook (30.1%), while no eating was the highest for fresh convenience foods (41.0%). HMR preference was the highest (3.8 out of 5 on a 5-point scale) for ready-to-eat, followed by ready-to-cook (3.3 points) and fresh convenience foods (3.3 points). The use frequency and preference of total HMRs, ready-to-eat foods, and ready-to-eat foods were positively correlated with unfavorable eating habits, including unbalanced eating, overeating, salty eating, spicy eating, skipping, and irregular meals. However, fresh convenience foods showed negative correlations with unbalanced eating, overeating, and salty eating. The use frequency and preference of total HMRs, ready-to-eat foods, and ready-to-cook foods were positively correlated with undesirable eating habits. However, fresh convenience food showed a negative correlation with eating habits such as unbalanced, overeating, and salty eating. These results should be considered for favorable food production and consumer guidance to promote healthy food choices.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.189-202
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• 1999

The study was carried out from March to May in 1998 to compare the food habits and food preference of 391 men in Kyung Nam area who were between twenties and sixties. The summarized results are as follow: 1. The 30's were highest(173.8cm) and the 60's were lowest(168.3cm) in their average stature. The 30's were heaviest(68.2Kg) and the 20's were lightest(62.3Kg) in their average weight(P<0.001). Average BMI was highest in the 50's and lowest in the 20's. 2. Average food habit score of the subjects(4.08) was as low as belonging to the poor group and lowest was 20's. 3. The rate of not eating was highest in the breakfast and the subjects ate breakfast more as they were older(P<0.001). The serious problem of food habit was irregular eating time. The subjects ate in the more irregular time as they were younger. 4. 88.9% of the subjects preferred cooked rice and cereals as their main food, kimchi as their side dish and fruit as their eating between meals. 5. We found great differences in the kinds and number of drinkings subjects preferred as their ages(P<0.001). 20's preferred cider and cola. 30's, 40's and 50's preferred coffee and 60's preferred ginseng tea and citron tea. The rate of smoking was higher in 30's and 40's then in 20's and 50's. 6. 72.9% of the 20's and 16.7% of the 60's ate instant food more than 2-3 times a week. They ate Ramen most often because of its convenience. They ate out more as they were younger and preferred Korean food as their eating out menu. 7. The degree of preference in a sweet taste was highest in 20's and lowest in 40's (P<0.01) and the degree in the preference of a sour taste became lower as they were older(P<0.001). Only in the preference of a salty taste, we could find the difference of the BMI level. They showed high degree in the preference of a salty taste as the order of the over-weight group, normal group, under-weight group and fat group. They showed meaningful correlationship between the level of BMI and the degree of preference of a salty taste in 20's and 40's and between the food habit score and the level of BMI in 60's (P<0.05).

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.631-641
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of preschool children's taste preferences on their intake of nutrients and the degree of dental caries. The subjects were 126 preschool children (boys 62 and girls 64) in Daegu area. Their taste preferences and food intake were investigated and their teeth were also examined. The energy intake of boys (1550 kcal) were significantly higher than that of girls (1441 kcal). Daily dietary intakes of nutrients-except niacin and vitamin C-were higher than those of RDA. Vitamin B$_1$ intake of the group preferring a salty taste was significantly lower than that of the other group (p<0.05). Vitamin B$_2$ intake of the group preferring a salty taste was significantly higher than that of the other group (p<0.05). Vitamin C intake of the group preferring a hot taste was significantly higher than that of the other group (p<0.05). The group with a preference for sweet had more experiences of dental caries and more decayed teeth than the other group, but which is not significant. The experiences of dental caries were negatively correlated with protein intake (p<0.01). The decayed teeth were negatively correlated with energy and protein intakes (p<0.01). Our data suggested that taste preferences are associated with vitamins intake and the degree of dental caries in preschool children. It means the sweet preference increased the experiences of the dental caries.