• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.10
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• pp.1608-1617
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• 2013

This study is performed to evaluate the effectiveness of a weight management program for overweight and obesity office workers; comparing their changes in the anthropometry, biochemistry, nutrient intakes, and exercise performance before and after the obesity management program. This program was performed on 39 workers, who are overweight or obese, over BMI 23 for 6 months in Jeollabuk-do public institution. As the results of this study suggests, triceps thickness (TT) of male subjects was significantly decreased (P<0.05). Waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference (HC) of the total subjects were significantly decreased after the weight management program (P<0.05). The biochemical result of the Total cholesterol (TC) (P<0.05) and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) (P<0.01) was significantly decreased in male subjects. The results of abdominal computed tomography (CT) also showed that subcutaneous fat area (SFA) of male subjects was significantly decreased after the weight management program (P<0.01). The nutrient intake's results of female subjects, who took Fe, Vit B2, and niacin, were increased significantly after the weight management program (P<0.05). The nutrition knowledge score of male subjects was significantly increased (P<0.05), and a muscular endurance of the physical test was significantly increased after the obesity management program (P<0.01). At the work place, workers need a systemic health and obesity management program to improve their work efficiency and quality of life. After this study, the program should be developed and supported continuously to maintain positive results from this study.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.146-158
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• 2010

In order to evaluate the characteristics of sediments and pollution by organic matter and metallic elements in intertidal sediments along the southwestern coast of Korea, we measured various geochemical parameters, including the mean grain size (Mz), water content (WC), ignition loss (IL), chemical oxygen demand (COD), acid volatile sulfide (AVS), and metallic elements (Al, Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, Mn, Hg, As), in intertidal surface sediments. The Mz of the surface sediments ranged from 2.1 to 8.3$\phi$, indicating that the surface sediments consist of various sedimentary facies, such as sand, slightly gravelly mud, sandy mud, and silt. The IL and COD in surface sediment ranged from 0.8 to 5.5% (mean $2.9\pm1.2%$) and from 3.9 to $13.8\;mgO_2/g{\cdot}dry$ (mean $8.5\pm2.6\;mgO_2/g{\cdot}dry$), respectively, which were lower than the values for surface sediment in areas near fish and shellfish farms or industrial complexes. No AVS was detected at any sampling station, despite various sedimentary facies. Most of metallic elements in surface sediments showed relatively good positive correlations with Mz and IL, which imply that the concentrations of metallic elements are mainly controlled by grain size and the organic matter content. The concentrations of metallic elements, except As, at some stations were considerably lower than those in the Sediment Quality Guideline (Effect Range Low, ERL) proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States. Similarly, the geoaccumulation index (Igeo) class indicated that pollution by metallic elements in intertidal surface sediment, except As, was moderate or non-existent. Our results imply that the intertidal surface sediments along the southwestern coast of Korea are not polluted by organic matter and metallic elements and are healthy for benthic organisms.