• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.683-696
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• 2019

This study examined the nutritional status and dietary behaviors of university students in Gangwon-do as well as the effects of dietary education on them. Forty college students were recruited, and their dietary lifestyle was examined using an Adult NQ questionnaire before and after dietary education. The questionnaire items were grouped into four categories: balance, diversity, moderation, and dietary behavior. The mean NQ score out of 100 was 48.00. Among the three grades of the NQ grade criteria, most subjects (50%) were in the lowest grade, which was poor. The mean scores of the NQ factors were highest for moderation (68.76%), followed in order by diversity (50.81%), dietary behavior (45.66%), and balance (21.01%). Compared to the criterion value, moderation was only good, and balance was the worst. These results suggest that the nutritional status of the subjects is poor. On the other hand, there was a significant change in the areas of the NQ score (53.7), balance (29.22) and dietary behavior (56.77) after dietary education. Nevertheless, the 'balance' area remained lower than the average, highlighting the need for education on food intake to enable diverse food intake.

• 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.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.86-96
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• 2023

Purpose: This study analyzes the association between depression, emotional eating, and dietary practices, and investigates the mediating effects of emotional eating between depression and dietary practice. Methods: A total of 345 women aged 40-59 years participated in the Seoul and Gyeonggido region. Assessments were achieved by self-reported questionnaires for emotional eating (Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire), Nutrition Quotients (NQ), and depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9). Results: Analyzing the NQ scores by considering the depression group, revealed that compared to the normal group, balance, diversity, and eating behavior scores were lower in the depression group, whereas the moderation score was lower in the borderline depression group and depression group. The emotional eating scores were determined to be higher in the depression group than in the normal group. Partial correlation analysis between depression, emotional eating, and NQ revealed that depression is positively correlated with emotional eating and negatively correlated with all other factors of the nutrition quotient, balance, diversity, moderation, and eating behavior. Among the nutrition quotient factors considered, emotional eating was determined to be negatively correlated with both diversity and moderation. The bootstrapping method was applied to analyze the mediating effect of emotional eating for determining the association between depression and NQ. Results indicate that among the nutrition quotient factors evaluated using emotional eating as a medium, depression exerted a negative effect on moderation. Conclusion: Results of this study confirm that emotional eating, as a medium, affects the intake of unhealthy foods especially when depression is associated with dietary practices.

• 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.54 no.5
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• pp.534-546
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed at understanding meal kit purchasing behavior and investigating its relationship with the Nutrition Quotient (NQ) of young adults. Methods: We conducted a survey on adults in their 20s and 30s covering their meal kit purchase experience, satisfaction, recognition, and purchase intention, and examined the relationship between the meal kit purchase and their NQ from February to March 2021. Results: Among the 404 subjects, 37.9% of males and 48.0% of females had experience in purchasing a meal kit (p < 0.001). The highest response indicated that the purchase cost of meal kits was 10,000-20,000 Won at a time, and the frequency of purchase was less than once a month. The convenience of cooking was the main reason for the purchase of meal kits, which were consumed mainly in the evening with family. The satisfaction with the purchase experience of a meal kit was rated 3.6 points for males and 3.7 points for females out of 5 points, and the satisfaction experienced by women was significantly higher than men in terms of freshness of ingredients, packaging design, and adequacy of the quantity of content (p < 0.05). Recognition of the meal kit was rated 3.5 points for males and 3.7 points for females out of 5 points. The purchase intention of the meal kit was rated 3.8 points for those with prior purchase experience, 3.2 points for the non-experienced, 3.3 points for males, and 3.6 points for females out of 5 points each (p < 0.001). The NQ score of dietary behavior in females with experience of meal kit purchases was significantly higher than non-experience (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The dietary behavior of female showed a significant difference by the meal kit purchase experience. It is necessary to understand the consumers' meal kit purchasing behavior to enable the development of various health-oriented meal kit products.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.419-438
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• 2023

Purpose: This study examines the effectiveness of personalized goal setting and smartphone-based nutrition counseling among adults in their 20s and 30s. Methods: Nutrition counseling was conducted for a total of 30 adults through a 1:1 chat room of a mobile instant messenger, once a week for 8 weeks. The first week of counseling included a preliminary online questionnaire survey and a dietary intake survey. Based on the results of the preliminary survey, 2 dietary goals were set in the second week and the participants were asked to record their achievements on a daily checklist. From the third week onwards, counselors sent feedback messages based on the checklist and provided information on dietary guidelines in a card news format every week. Post-counseling questionnaires and dietary intake surveys were conducted in the seventh week. Changes in dietary habits during the counseling were reviewed in the eighth week, followed by a questionnaire survey on the evaluation of the counseling process. Results: The nutrition quotient (NQ) scores and self-efficacy scores were significantly higher after nutrition counseling. The NQ scores of consumption frequencies of fruits, milk and dairy products, nuts, fast food, Ramyeon, sweet and greasy baked products, sugarsweetened beverages, the number of vegetable dishes at meals, and breakfast frequency were significantly higher after nutrition counseling. The intake of protein, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, calcium, and iron, and the index of nutritional quality of vitamin A, riboflavin, folate, calcium, and iron were higher after nutrition education. The participants were satisfied with the nutrition counseling program and the provided nutrition information. Conclusion: Personalized goal setting and smartphone-based nutrition counseling were found to be effective in improving the quality of diet and self-efficacy in young adults. Similar results were obtained in both the underweight/normal weight and the overweight/obese groups.