• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.114-126
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• 2020

Bloom-forming toxic cyanobacteria Microcystis spp. are common in the summer season in temperate freshwater ecosystems. Often, it leads to the degradation of water quality and affects the quality of drinking water. In a previous study, NQ (naphthoquinone) compounds were shown to be effective, selective, and ecologically safe algicides for Microcystis spp. blooms. To analyze the superiority of developed NQ derivatives, we conducted a microcosm experiment using clay, which is frequently used in South Korea. Similar to previous studies, the NQ 40 and NQ 2-0 compounds showed high algicidal activities of 99.9% and 99.6%, respectively, on Microcystis spp. at low concentrations (≥1 μM) and enhanced phytoplankton species diversity. However, when treated with clay, a temporary algicidal effect was seen at the beginning of the experiment that gradually increased at the end. In addition, treatment with the NQ compounds did not affect either the abiotic or biological factors, and similar trends were observed with the control. These results showed that the NQ 2-0 compound was more effective, with no ecosystem disturbance, and more economical than the currently used clay. These results suggest that NQ 2-0 compound could be a selective, economically and ecologically safe algicide to mitigate harmful cyanobacterial blooms in the field.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.390-399
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• 2012

The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate the construct validity of a Nutrition Quotient (NQ) for children. In a previous report (Kang, et al., 2012), the food behavior checklist for children's NQ, consisting of 19 items, was grouped into a 5-factor structure according to the exploratory factor analysis: balance, diversity, moderation, regularity, and practice. In this study, the construct validity of the NQ was assessed using a confirmatory factor analysis. Elementary school students (n = 1,393) from six large cities completed the NQ test. Indicator tests suggested an adequate model fit (goodness of fit index = 0.9613; adjusted GFI = 0.95; standardized root mean square residual = 0.0464; chi-square test statistics of < 0.001 p-value, 82.1), and item loadings were significant for all subscales (p < 0.05). The standardized path coefficients were used as the weights of the items. The NQ and the 5 factor scores of the student were calculated by the obtained weights of the questionnaire items. Logistic regression was applied to find the significant factors in order to affect a specific nutrient status. The receiver operation characteristic curve analyses were performed in order to find diagnostic cut-off points of the five factors. The food behavior checklist for children's NQ would be a handy and suitable instrument for evaluating dietary behaviors of Korean children.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.340-356
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• 2018

Purpose: This study was conducted to develop a nutrition quotient (NQ) to assess overall dietary quality and food behaviors of Korean adults. Methods: The NQ was developed in three steps: item generation, item reduction, and validation. Candidate items of the NQ checklist were derived from a systematic literature review, expert in-depth interviews, statistical analyses of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010 ~ 2013) data, and national nutrition policies and recommendations. A total of 368 adults (19 ~ 64 years) participated in a one-day dietary record survey and responded to 43 items in the food behavior checklist. Pearson's correlation coefficients between responses to the checklist items and nutritional intake status of the adults were calculated. Item reduction was performed, and 24 items were selected for a nationwide survey. A total of 1,053 nationwide adult subjects completed the checklist questionnaires. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to develop a final NQ model. Results: The 21 checklist items were used as final items for NQ. Checklist items were composed of four factors: nutrition balance (seven items), food diversity (three items), moderation for the amount of food intake (six items), and dietary behavior (five items). The four-factor structure accounted for 41.8% of the total variance. Indicator tests of the NQ model suggested an adequate model fit (GRI = 0.9693, adjusted GFI = 0.9617, RMR = 0.0054, SRMR = 0.0897, p < 0.05), and item loadings were significant for all subscales. Standardized path coefficients were used as weights of the items. The NQ and four-factor scores were calculated according to the obtained weights of the questionnaire items. Conclusion: NQ for adults would be a useful tool for assessing adult dietary quality and food behavior. Further investigations of adult NQ are needed to reflect changes in their food behavior, environment, and prevalence of chronic diseases.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.22-39
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• 2017

Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the nutritional status and dietary behavior of Korean and Chinese elementary school children using Nutritional Quotient (NQ). Methods: The survey was conducted by distributing questionnaires to the parents of the child, after selecting four elementary schools located in Pusan city of Korea and three elementary schools located in Luoyang city, Henan Province of China, from Grade 1 to Grade 6 in each school. Results: The NQ scores of Korean children and Chinese children were 64.99 and 66.57, respectively, which did not show a statistically significant difference. Korean children significantly showed higher diversity score (p<0.001) than Chinese, but Chinese children significantly showed higher moderation (p < 0.001), regularity (p < 0.001) and practice score (p < 0.01) than Korean. NQ grades showed a statistically significant difference. According to food security of the household, NQ scores of the Chinese children of secure household were significantly higher than those of food insecurity household (p < 0.01). In particular, it showed a significant difference in the practice (p < 0.001), moderation (p < 0.05) and regularity score (p < 0.05). Korean children's NQ score showed a significant correlation with the score of following the Dietary Guidelines of parents, but Chinese did not show such a correlation. Conclusions: There were differences in children's dietary behaviors and parents' impact to children's dietary attitude between Korean and Chinese. NQ developed for Korean could be successfully applied to Chinese.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.488-502
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• 2020

Purpose: This study examined the factors influencing Nutrition Quotient for adults (NQ-A), focusing on workers in the manufacturing industry. Methods: The participants were 738 industrial workers in Gwangju. Their dietary information was analyzed using a questionnaire of NQ-A, which consisted of 21 checklist items and the general characteristics of the subjects. The scores of NQ-A and its 4 factors (balance, moderation, diversity, and dietary behavior) were calculated according to the general characteristics of subjects. The data were analyzed using a χ² test, t-test, correlation, and multiple regression using SPSS 21.0 program. Results: The mean NQ-A score was 45.3 for the total subjects, indicating a low grade. Non-shift workers showed significantly higher scores for balance, diversity, and moderation factors than shift workers. Forty-three (8.7%) shift workers and 123 (50.8%) non-shift workers had good NQ-A scores, whereas 453 (91.3%) shift workers and 119 (49.2%) non-shift workers required monitoring for nutrition. The significant influencing factors of NQ-A were the working pattern (p < 0.001), gender (p < 0.001), family composition (p < 0.001), age (p < 0.001), and household income (p < 0.001). As a result of multiple regression analysis, there was a significant difference in the NQ-A score for moderation (F = 141.930, p < 0.001), diversity (F = 98.998, p < 0.001), balance (F = 52.329, p < 0.001), and dietary behavior (F = 12.895, p < 0.001). As a result, shift work and gender had the greatest influence on the balance (β = -0.372, p < 0.001), diversity (β = -0.316, p < 0.001), and moderation (β = -0.507, p < 0.001) factors in NQ-A. Gender had the most influence on the dietary behavior in NQ-A. Conclusion: Shift work and gender were significant factors affecting NQ-A. To manage workers' health better, it will be necessary to prepare a nutrition education program according to the type of working pattern and gender.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.247-263
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• 2023

Purpose: This study was conducted to update the Nutrition Quotient for Adolescents (NQ-A), which is used to assess the overall dietary quality and food behavior among Korean adolescents. Methods: The first 30 candidate items of the measurable eating behavior checklist were obtained based on a previous NQ-A checklist, the results of the seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, national nutrition policies and dietary guidelines, and literature reviews. A total of 100 middle and high school students residing in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province participated in a pilot study using the 25-item checklist. Factor analysis and frequency analysis were conducted to determine if the checklist items were organized properly and whether the responses to each item were distributed adequately, respectively. As a result, 22 checklist items were selected for the nationwide survey, which was applied to 1,000 adolescent subjects with stratified sampling from 6 metropolitan cities. The construct validity of the updated NQ-A 2021 was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. Results: Twenty checklist items were determined for the final NQ-A 2021. The items were composed of three factors: balance (8 items), moderation (9 items), and practice (3 items). The standardized path coefficients were used as the weights of items to determine the nutrition quotients. NQ-A 2021 and 3-factor scores were calculated according to the weights of questionnaire items. The weight for each of the 3 factors was determined as follows: balance, 0.15; moderation, 0.30; and practice, 0.55. Conclusion: The updated NQ-A 2021 is a useful instrument for easily and quickly evaluating the dietary qualities and eating behaviors of Korean adolescents.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.628-645
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to evaluate the nutritional status and dietary habits of the elderly using the nutrition quotient for the elderly (NQ-E) and to analyze the differences in the NQ-E according to their levels of oral health. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The survey was administered to 123 elderly people receiving congregate meal services in Seoul. The questionnaire comprised 3 domains: oral health status, general characteristics, and the NQ-E for the elderly. RESULTS: The respondents were divided into 2 groups based on the average score of their levels of oral health (the group with high oral health scores: 4.42 points and the group with low oral health scores: 2.89 points). As a result of evaluating nutritional status using the NQ-E, it was found that the average NQ-E score was 58.7 points, with 46.0 points in the balance domain, 47.0 points in the diversity domain, 72.9 points in the moderation domain, and 61.8 points in the dietary behavior domain. The NQ-E score (62.3 points) of the group with high oral health scores is significantly higher than the NQ-E score (54.7 points) of the group with low oral health scores (P < 0.001). Concerning the NQ domain scores, the elderly with good oral health status had "favorable" results in terms of balance and dietary behavior, and the elderly with poor oral health status had "favorable" results only in terms of balance. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, several dietary areas needed improvement in general. Those with poor oral health conditions urgently needed to improve related factors to minimize the risk of increasing imbalanced nutrition and comorbidities due to insufficient nutrition and undesirable eating habits.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.335-343
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• 2015

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the food behavior and nutritional status of elementary school students in the Jeju area using Nutrition Quotient (NQ). Methods: The subjects were 440 students (235 boys and 205 girls) in the fifth and sixth grade at four elementary schools located in Jeju. Demographic, lifestyle, and environmental information was collected using a self-reported questionnaire. The food behavior checklist for children's Nutrition Quotient (NQ), consisting of 19 items, and nutrition education related information were also obtained. Results: The mean score of the children's NQ was poor, reaching 60.3 points. The percentage distribution of NQ grade was 19.8% (lowest), 18.6% (low), 45.0% (medium), 10.7% (high), and 5.9% (highest) and the factor scores for balance, diversity, abstinence, regularity, and practice were 56.6, 68.4, 71.3, 57.4, and 54.8 points, respectively. Compared with the NQ cut-off points for defining malnutrition (balance; 57, diversity; 87, abstinence; 66, regularity; 69, and practice; 67 point), average score of abstinence factor was only above the cut-off point and scores of the other factors were below the cut-off point. Subjects with higher NQ scores tended to have higher levels of exercise activity (p < 0.001), frequency of family meals (p < 0.01), and father's educational levels (p < 0.01) compared to those with lower NQ score. NQ score showed positive association with nutrition education experience and practice (p < 0.001). Conclusion: NQ score of elementary school students residing in Jeju was lower than the national average. More opportunities should be provided for participation in nutrition education, which incorporates a range of program strategies, as well as communication and education activities.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.278-295
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• 2022

Purpose: This study was undertaken to revise and update the Nutrition Quotient (NQ) for Korean adults, a tool used to evaluate dietary quality and behavior. Methods: The first 31 items of the measurable food behavior checklist were adopted based on considerations of the previous NQ checklist, recent literature reviews, national nutrition policies, and recommendations. A pilot survey was conducted on 100 adults aged 19 to 64 residing in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province from March to April 2021 using a provisional 26- item checklist. Pilot survey data were analyzed using factor analysis and frequency analysis to determine whether checklist items were well organized and responses to questions were well distributed, respectively. As a result, the number of items on the food behavior checklist was reduced to 23 for the nationwide survey, which was administered to 1,000 adults (470 men and 530 women) aged 19 to 64 from May to August 2021. The construct validity of the developed NQ (NQ-2021) was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis, linear structural relations. Results: Eighteen items in 3 categories, that is, balance (8 items), moderation (6 items), and practice (4 items), were finally included in NQ-2021 food behavior checklist. 'Balance' items addressed the intake frequencies of essential foods, 'moderation' items the frequencies of unhealthy food intakes or behaviors, and 'practice' items addressed eating behaviors. Items and categories were weighted using standardized path coefficients to calculate NQ-2021 scores. Conclusion: The updated NQ-2021 appears to be suitable for easily and quickly assessing the diet qualities and behaviors of Korean adults.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.217-230
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the diet intake status and quality of adults from North Korea who had lived in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, using the nutrition quotient (NQ) for Korean adults. Methods: A number of 166 adults aged from 20 to 64 years were enrolled as study subjects. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on their demographic characteristics, food consumption frequency, eating behaviors, and NQ. The NQ score was then used to measure the overall diet quality. The NQ score was composed of four major age-based categories. 'Balance', 'Diversity', 'Moderation', and 'Dietary behavior' were utilized as scores for measurements within each of the four categories. The scores for all four categories were summed up, resulting in the total NQ score. Participants' age groups were stratified by 20's, 30's, 40', and over 50's. A χ² test and generalized linear regression (GLM) model were used to assess a significance for difference of subject distribution in categorical and continuous variables in the food consumption frequency, eating behaviors, and NQ scores. Results: Participants in younger age groups were more likely to report consumption of ramyeon, fast food, sweet and greasy baked products, processed beverage, delivery food, and night snacks than the older age groups. Most importantly, participants in 20's age group were less likely to report the total NQ and moderation score than the 50's age group. Conclusion: In this study, the 20's age group displayed a lower NQ characteristic for an unbalanced diet. Therefore, it is imperative for adults from North Korea to be given individualized diet instructions along with nutritional education programs.