• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.734-743
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• 2012

High sodium consumption is a significant nutrition problem in South Korea; however, few studies have examined the awareness and practice of dietitians with respect to low sodium diet in schools. In this study, we collected data from 211 dietitians in 2012. Most respondents indicated that sodium reduction was important in school meals (very important 40.5%, somewhat important 55.6%); however, they rarely checked the sodium content in the nutrition labels of processed foods (never/rarely 74.2%, sometimes 18.7%, always/often 7.2%). The main reason for not checking the sodium content was 'no nutrition table on some processed foods' (38.5%). The most important barrier to sodium reduction in school meals was overcoming the negative taste of students related to a reduced-sodium diet (70.4%). The most frequently used processed foods were processed meat (e.g. ham, bacon) (48.3%), frozen dumplings and noodles (33.8%), and sausage and dressing (14.5%) in school meals. The proportion of dietitians who used processed food ${\geq}$ 2 times per week for the school menu was 72.2% in high school, 28.4% in middle school and 12.4% in elementary school (p<0.05). Upon ranking of the importance of nutrients in school menus, calories received the highest score (4.35 points), followed by macronutrient ratios (4.30), calcium (4.06), iron (3.44) and sodium (3.20). Although most dietitians recognized that sodium reduction was important in school menu planning, they had poor dietary practices. It is suggested that we educate dietitians as well as students about the importance and practice of a reduced sodium diet. Furthermore, it is critical to develop diverse low sodium recipes and have a required nutrition labeling system for all processed foods. Overall, the results of this study could serve as a guide to planning effective nutrition programs to reduce sodium consumption in school feeding programs.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.34-44
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• 2016

Given that fermented foods, such as kimchi and doenjang, are main food sources for high sodium intake in Korea, there have been needs to develop sodium-reduced kimchi and doenjang with the proper quality. However, small and medium sized business could not actively develop the sodium-reduced products due to lack of techniques and information as well as economical reasons. The most important aspects is to address food safety issues including microbial contaminations in sodium-reduced foods. Hurdle Technology, physical, biological, chemical control technique, would have to be preferentially considered to increase the hygiene safety standards in entire processing steps including raw materials, process water, manufacturing environments, and so on. Once the food hygiene level is stable, the next challenges are to improve the taste of the sodium reduced-products as well as to packaging and storage technologies. The development of a variety of sodium-reduced fermented foods would result in significant mitigation of sodium intake by Korean. This report provides the directions to develop sodium-reduced kimchi, doenjang or pickled food products for small and medium sized business, based on the technical consulting results of sodium reduction project supported by Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2015.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.186-189
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• 2009

In this study, niobium powder was made from potassium heptafluoroniobite($K_2NbF_7$) using sodium(Na) as a reductant and KCl, KF as a diluent based on the hunter metallothermic reduction method. The excesses of reductant were varied from 0%, 3%, 5% and 7%. When 7% excess of sodium was used, the un-reacted sodium remained in the reacted product. The niobium powder has been achieved by reducing 50 g of $K_2NbF_7$ with 5% sodium excess in a charge at a reduction temperature of $850^{\circ}C$. The proportion of fine fraction decreased appreciably and the yield of niobium powder improved from 65% to 85% with the increase of sodium excess. The average particle size of niobium powder is improved from 0.2 microns to 0.3 microns in the 5% excess sodium.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.166-174
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to compare dietary self-efficacy for sodium intake reduction and dietary behaviors by eating areas. Subjects (797 males and 767 females) were classified according to perceived dietary habit levels related to sodium intake (lowest: ${\leq}10$ (n=434), low: $11{\sim}{\leq}13$ (n=471), high: $14{\sim}{\leq}15$ (n=360), highest: $16{\leq}$ (n=299)) using an online survey with a sample that was geographically representative of the population. The highest group was significantly younger and had a higher student proportion than the lowest group. Dining contexts regarding home led to a significantly higher sodium intake in the highest group, but it was eating out for the lowest group. The highest group had a significantly lower intention to reduce sodium intake compared to the lowest group. In the home cooked meals, the highest group displayed a significantly lower cooking frequency, less effort with respect to a low sodium diet and cooking habits related to sodium intake as compared to the lowest group. Also, regarding eating out and food service, the highest group exhibited significantly lower efforts and dietary behaviors to reduce sodium intake than the lowest group. The dietary score for sodium reduction behavior in the highest group was significantly lower compared to the lowest group, for home cooked meals, eating out, as well as food service. Thus, dietary guidelines and nutrition education for the reduction of sodium intake by eating areas need to be developed and provided.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.341-352
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• 2012

It is well established that excessive sodium intake is related to a higher incidence of chronic diseases such as hypertension, stroke, coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease and gastric cancer. Although the upper limit of the current sodium intake guideline by WHO is set at 2,000 mg/day for adults, sodium intake of Koreans is well over 4,700 mg/capita/day implying an urgent need to develop and implement sodium intake reduction policy at the national level. This study investigated the cost-effectiveness of the sodium intake reduction policy, for the first time, in Korea. Analyses were performed using most recent and representative data on national health insurance statistics, healthcare utilization, employment information, disease morbidity/mortality, etc. The socioeconomic benefits of the policy, resulting from reduced morbidity of those relevant diseases, included lower medical expenditures, transportation costs, caregiver cost for inpatients and income losses. The socioeconomic benefits from diminished mortality included reductions in earning losses and welfare losses caused by early deaths. It is estimated that the amount of total benefits of reducing sodium intake from 4.7 g to 3.0 g is 12.6 trillion Korean Won; and the size of its cost is 149 billion Won. Assuming that the effect of sodium intake reduction would become gradually evident over a 5-year period, the implied rate of average return to the sodium reduction policy is 7,790% for the following 25 years, suggesting a very high cost-effectiveness. Accordingly, development and implementation of a mid-to-long term plan for a consistent sodium intake reduction policy is extremely beneficial and well warranted.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2017.11a
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• pp.105-106
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• 2017

Previous studies have confirmed the performance of pH reduction agents using liquid sodium phosphate based ammonium chloride as a pH reduction agent. In this study, the pH reduction performance considering economical and applicability as a practical stage and the property change analysis for the identification of the reaction mechanism of the pH reduction agent were carried out. As a result, the pH reduction performance at a low rate of the pH reducing agent was confirmed. The specific gravity of CaO decreased significantly after XRF analysis. It is also believed that this reduces the amount of Ca(OH)₂ produced and contributes to pH reduction.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.664-678
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• 2017

Purpose: To identify the effectiveness of policy evaluation, consistent monitoring is necessary. This study aimed to carry out mid-term evaluation of objectives and programs related to comprehensive plans for sodium intake reduction by 2020 for Seoul city and then reestablish the objectives of the sodium intake reduction plans. Methods: Literature reviews, data analysis, and reviews of expert focus-groups were performed to evaluate objectives, to develop a new goal, and to identify the priority subjects of the sodium intake reduction programs. In order to examine target populations for the programs, awareness and behaviors related to sodium intakes among Seoul citizens were examined by sex, age, and income level using the 2008~2013 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. Results: Current objectives of the sodium intake reduction plan by 2020 for Seoul city were not appropriate, so objectives were reset to 3,600 mg of sodium intake by 2020 among Seoul citizens with 2% reduction per year. Although sodium intake showed a decreasing trend by year, it was still high, especially in men. The sodium intake reduction programs currently in progress have not been assessed at multiple levels across multiple sectors and have only been assessed fragmentarily. For dietary behavior related to sodium intakes by sex, age, and income level, sodium intake was higher in the group with less than 100 g of fruit intake compared to the group with 100 g or more. Subjects aged 30~59 years and the low household income group showed relatively higher sodium intakes. Based on the data analysis and the expert review, the priority subject of the sodium intake reduction programs was determined to be adult men. In terms of a program strategy for sodium intake reduction, multi-level and setting approaches, including work sites, home, and restaurants, were suggested to reduce sodium intakes of the target subject. Conclusion: The suggested objectives should be consistently monitored by data analysis, and the determined programs need to be phased in over 5 years.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.635-640
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of a sodium reduction program at local restaurants through nutrition education and examination of the health of restaurant owners and cooks.SUBJECTS/METHODS: The study was a single-arm pilot intervention using a pre-post design in one business district with densely populated restaurants in Seoul, South Korea. The intervention focused on improving nutrition behaviors and psychosocial factors through education, health examination, and counseling of restaurant personnel. Forty-eight restaurant owners and cooks completed the baseline survey and participated in the intervention. Forty participants completed the post-intervention survey. RESULTS: The overweight and obesity prevalences were 25.6% and 39.5%, respectively, and 74.4% of participants had elevated blood pressure. After health examination, counseling, and nutrition education, several nutrition behaviors related to sodium intake showed improvement. In addition, those who consumed less salt in their baseline diet (measured with urine dipsticks) were more likely to agree that providing healthy foods to their customers is necessary. This study demonstrated the potential to reduce the sodium contents of restaurant foods by improving restaurant owners' and cooks' psychological factors and their own health behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: This small pilot study demonstrated that working with restaurant owners and cooks to improve their own health and sodium intake may have an effect on participation in restaurant-based sodium reduction initiatives. Future intervention studies with a larger sample size and comparison group can focus on improving the health and perceptions of restaurant personnel in order to increase the feasibility and efficacy of restaurant-based sodium reduction programs and policies.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.752-771
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• 2012

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of sodium reduction education program of a public health center on the blood pressure, blood biochemical profile and sodium intake of hypertensive adults. The program continued for 16 weeks with an 8-week nutrition education and an 8-week follow-up to forty two subjects, 6 males and 36 females aged 46 to 80 years. Subjects received nutrition education including lectures, activities, cooking classes and nutrition counseling. Physical fitness, management of stress, and nutrition counseling were provided during the follow-up. The program was evaluated three times, before and after the nutrition education, and after the follow-up. Systolic blood pressure (p < 0.0001) and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.001) were decreased after completion of the program. Body weight (p < 0.005), percent body fat (p < 0.005) and body mass index (p < 0.001) were decreased, too. There were no significant differences in blood glucose, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides, while elevated levels of total cholesterol (p < 0.001) and LDL-cholesterol (p < 0.001) appeared after the program completion. Decreased intakes of vitamin A (p < 0.05), ${\beta}$-carotene (p < 0.001) and sodium (p < 0.001) were observed. Consumption frequency of noodles, soups, stews, kimchi, fishes/shellfish, seasoned vegetables, and salted seafoods/pickles (p < 0.05~p < 0.001) were decreased, while that of all food groups were not changed during the follow-up. Total score of nutrition knowledge related to sodium intake and hypertension (p < 0.001), and that of dietary behavior associated with high sodium intakes were changed positively (p < 0.001) only during the nutrition education. This sodium reduction education program, including the follow-up study showed positive effects on the blood pressure, sodium intake, nutrition knowledge and dietary behavior of hypertensive adults.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.269-281
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• 2023

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the frequency of convenience food consumption at convenience stores (CVS) and the CVS usage patterns of middle and high school students as well as to understand students' attitude toward sodium and sugar reduction. Methods: We used an online questionnaire for data collection. The questionnaire comprised five distinct categories: general characteristics, CVS usage, frequency of consumption according to convenience food menus at CVS, attitude toward sodium and sugar reduction, and adherence to dietary guidelines. Results: A total of 75 students from Seoul (14 middle school students and 61 high school students) participated in the study. Most respondents visit CVS 3-5 times a week. CVS are predominantly used during weekdays, mostly during lunch, and dinner. The students mostly checked the caloric content and expiration date as food labeling information. The participants were aware of the need to reduce their sugar and sodium intake. Among frequent CVS convenience food consumers, there was an increased consideration of the need to reduce their sugar and sodium consumption, despite their actual selection of foods with high sugar and sodium content. Additionally, they did not check the sugar and sodium levels indicated in food labeling. Further, the dietary action guide from the Ministry of Health and Welfare were poorly followed by most students. Conclusions: There is a need for nutrition education specifically addressing the sugar and sodium content of the convenience foods predominantly consumed by students. Additionally, educating students with frequent convenience food consumption to actively check the sugar and sodium information on food labels could help promote healthier food choices.