• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.14-22
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• 2011

This study was designed to compare the incidence and severity of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) between normal (N = 85) and overweight or obese (N = 28) college female students and investigated correlation between PMS, nutrient intake, hematological index and psychological index (depression, anxiety, stress). Each subject was asked a Menstrual Discomfort Questionnaire (MDQ) for PMS by 5 Likert scale. The PMS scores of women in the normal weight subjects ranked in order of severity were water retention (2.71), followed by behavioral change (2.58), negative affect (2.46), pain (2.31), autonomic reaction (2.27), decreased concentration (2.16). The symptoms of 'pain' and 'behavioral change' of overweight or obese subject were significantly higher than those of normal subject (p < 0.05). And total cholesterol concentration of overweight or obese subjects was significantly higher than in normal subject (p < 0.05). There was a significant positive correlation (p < 0.05) between the symptoms of 'negative effect' and BMI. And the triglyceride concentration was positively related with 'water retention (p < 0.01)'. The symptoms of 'decreased concentration' were negatively correlated with calcium (p < 0.01) and vitamin B6 intake (p < 0.05). The depression score were positively related with symptoms of 'behavioral change (p < 0.05)', 'negative affect' (p < 0.01), and the anxiety score was positively correlated with 'behavioral change (p < 0.05)' and 'decreased concentration (p < 0.05)'. The stress score was positively correlated with 'decreased concentration (p < 0.01)', 'behavioral change (p < 0.05)' and 'negative affect (p < 0.05)'. This suggests that PMS represents the clinical manifestation of a calcium, vitamin $B_6$ deficiency and psychological disorder. Therefore we concluded that nutrient supplementation, depression and stress management may help to relieve PMS symptoms.

• The Journal of the Society of Korean Medicine Diagnostics
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.88-100
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• 2021

Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the daily lifestyle of Vietnamese immigrant women and to find out if they could affect health-related quality of life improvement. Methods The subjects of this study were 273 women who immigrated to Korea from Vietnam. This study was conducted at Daejeon and nearby Healthy Family Support Centers from September 2019 to January 2020 with the cooperation of the Daejeon City Healthy Family Support Center. Correlation analysis was performed between lifestyle and quality of life, and ANOVA analysis was performed to confirm the difference in health-related quality of life scores for each subgroup of dietary nutrition, sleep quality, and physical activity. A regression analysis was conducted to investigate the contribution of dietary nutrition, sleep quality, and physical activity to the quality of life of Vietnamese immigrant women. The significance level was p<0.05. Results Physical activity showed significant correlations with Euro Quality of Life -Visual Analogue Scale (EQ VAS), sleep quality with EQ VAS and Euro Quality of Life-5Dimension (EQ-5D) Index, and dietary nutrition with EQ-5D Index. There were significant differences in EQ VAS and EQ-5D Index scores for each sleep quality subgroup, and a significant difference in EQ VAS scores for each activity subgroup. The quality of sleep was found to have the greatest effect on EQ VAS and EQ Index of Vietnamese immigrant women, and physical activity on EQ VAS and dietary nutrition had some influence on EQ-5D Index. Conclusions Quality of sleep is closely related to health-related quality of life, and plays an important role in health-related quality of life for Vietnamese immigrant women.

• Clinical Nutrition Research
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.218-228
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• 2023

Recent studies have evaluated the association between specific beverage intake and metabolic risks in adults. However, more evidence is needed to examine the association between the Healthy Beverage Index (HBI) and metabolic factors. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between HBI and metabolic factors in adults. In this cross-sectional study, 338 overweight and obese individuals living in Tabriz, Iran were selected. Data on beverage consumption, demographics, physical activity, and anthropometric characteristics were evaluated using validated standard protocols. The predefined HBI was calculated based on previous studies. The mean value of HBI index among all of the participants was 59.76 ± 6.51. Those at the higher HBI scores had significantly lower waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, fat mass, and weight (p < 0.05). HBI and triglyceride scores also had a significant relationship. It has been shown that at higher HBI scores compared to lower scores, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels increase while homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, and blood pressure decrease. HBI scores higher among Iranian adults were associated with a better chance of losing weight and weight loss and a better lipid profile, and lower blood pressure. Therefore, HBI can be a useful and helpful tool for assessing the overall quality of beverages adults consume. However, further studies are warranted to confirm the possible health effects of healthy beverage index.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.16-27
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• 2001

The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of obesity and to examine the eating habits of elementary school students in Iksan dity. The study was carried out on 292 students(male: 151, female : 141)in May of 1997. The average height and weight of the subjects were 141 cm and 37kg in males and 142 cm and 36kg in females, which were similar to the average of Chonbuk. A Weight/Length Index(WLI), Broca Index, Rohrer Index(RI), Body Mass Index(BMI) and Waist Hip Ratio(WHR) were used as an obesity index to classify degree of obesity. WLI, Broca Index and RI were proper for judging child obesity and strict judgments were conducted in the order of RI, WLI and Brcoa Index. The subjects were classified as 30.8% underweight, 43.5% normal, 8.2% overweight and 17.5% obese by WLI and there were significant differences between height(p＜0.05) and weight(p＜0.01) according to obesity degree among the four groups. 50.3% of the boys and 55.3% of the girls are regularly, and the main reason they didn＇t ate regularly, and the maim reason they didn＇t eat breakfast(78.4%) was due to lack of time. The frequency of snacks were 1-2 times a week(40.4%), fruits(40.4%) from market and supermarket(68.2%). According to the survey 84.6%, 77.45, 78.1%, 69.9%, 59.9% and 86.6% of subjects didn＇t eat meat, fish, soysauce, instant food, sugar and seaweed respectively. Seaweed, meat, and soysauce showed low preferences. 69.5% and 74.75 of the subjects drink milk and ate kimchi respectively. By analyzing eating habits according to the degree of obesity, the rate of skipping breakfast(p＜0.01), and eating meat or fish(p＜0.05) were high in the overweight and obese groups of girls. In the boys case, the rate of not eating food in sugar(p＜0.05) was high in the obese group. Obese children need to correct their eating habit. This reasserts the importance of nutrition education in children though teachers, parents, and dietitions. The findings of this study may be applied to nutrition education to ensure better physical fitness for children.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.129-134
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• 2000

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the validity of the BMI as an indicator of obesity for Koreans. The usefulness of the BMI to represent overweight and obesity was evaluated by measuring the relative validity of sensitivity and specificity, and was compared with the validity of triceps skinfold thickness(mm). To measure the relative validity of the BMI and triceps skinfold thickness, body fat(%) was used as a reference measure of obesity. The study population included 844 participants aged 20-69 years who resided in Kuri City in Kyunggi province. Participants were measured regarding weight, height, triceps skinfold thickness and body fat. The prevalence of obesity for male subjects was 32.0%, 66.2%, and 0.9%, and for female subjects, 17.6%, 56.1%, 12.4% based on the BMI, triceps skinfold thickness, and body fat(%) respectively. The prevalence of obesity was higher based on the BMI or triceps skinfold thickness than body fat measurement. The sensitivity and specificity of the BMI were 33.3% and 67.9% in male subjects and 77.7% and 90.8% in female subjects. Sensitivity of the BMI was lower, and specificity was higher than those of triceps skinfold thickness. In summary, BMI as an indicator of obesity for Korean showed a tendency of overestimation of obesity prevalence. Therefore, there is a need to develop a more reliable obesity index other than the BMI for Koreans.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.713-719
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• 2006

The effect of dietary iodine and selenium supplementation, alone or in combination, on peripheral blood lymphocyte function was determined in laying hens. Eight-hundred-and-sixty-four New-Loman laying hens were randomly allotted into 12 dietary treatments with different inclusion levels of iodine (0, 0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg), selenium (0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg) or their combinations for 24 weeks. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation index, concanavalin A (ConA) stimulation index, peroxide enzyme activity and phagocytosis to neutral red particles were tested. There were significant differences in LPS stimulation index, ConA stimulation index, peroxide enzyme activity and phagocytosis to neutral red particles in different iodine or selenium supplementation levels (p<0.05). The highest iodine and selenium supplementation both resulted in highest LPS-/ConA-stimulation indices (p<0.05). However, when iodine was lower than 0.2 mg/kg, the additional effect of different levels of selenium did not always result in significant differences in these indices. The results indicated that iodine and selenium may affect immunity in laying hens and, when the iodine level in the laying hen is lower than 0.2 mg/kg, a selenium allowance higher than 0.1 mg/kg may be necessary to improve immunity.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.679-690
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Concerns about regional disparities in heathy eating and nutritional status among South Korean adults are increasing. This study aims to identify the magnitude of regional disparities in diet and nutritional status among Korean adults who completed the 2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). SUBJECTS/METHODS: The participants were a nationally representative sample of Korean adults aged 19 years and older from the 2017 KNHANES (n = 6,126). We employed the svy commands in STATA to accommodate the complex survey design. The relative concentration index (RCI), absolute concentration index (ACI) and index of disparity were used to measure regional nutritional inequalities. RESULTS: Overweight and obese adults were more prevalent among the poor than among the rich in urban areas (RCI = -0.041; P < 0.05), while overweight and obese adults were more prevalent among the rich than among the poor in rural areas of South Korea (RCI = 0.084; P < 0.05). Economic inequality in fruit and vegetable intake ≥ 500 g per day was greater in rural areas than in urban areas in both relative size (RCI = 0.228 vs. 0.091, difference in equality = 0.137; P < 0.05) and absolute size (ACI = 0.055 vs. 0.023, difference in equality = 0.032; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides useful information identifying opposite directions in the relative concentration curves between urban and rural areas. Adult overweight/obesity was more prevalent among the poor in urban areas, while adult overweight/obesity was more prevalent among the rich in rural areas. Public health nutrition systems should be implemented to identify nutritional inequalities that should be targeted across regions in South Korea.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.165-170
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• 2016

Recent trial results suggest that the consumption of a low glycemic index (GI) diet is beneficial in the prevention of high blood glucose levels. Identifying active hypoglycemic substances in ordinary foods could be a significant benefit to the management of blood glucose. It has been hypothesized that noodles with Bombyx mori powder are a low GI food. We evaluated GI and changes in postprandial glucose levels following consumption of those noodles and compared them with those following consumption of plain wheat flour noodles (control) and glucose (reference) in healthy subjects. Thirteen males (age: $34.2{\pm}4.5years$, body mass index: $23.2{\pm}1.1kg/m^2$) consumed 75 g carbohydrate portions of glucose and the 2 kinds of noodle after an overnight fast. Capillary blood was measured at time 0 (fasting), 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 180 min from the start of each food intake. The GI values were calculated by taking the ratio of the incremental area under the blood glucose response curve (IAUC) for the noodles and glucose. There was a significant difference in postprandial glucose concentrations at 30 and 45 min between the control noodles and the noodles with Bombyx mori powder: the IAUC and GI for the noodles with Bombyx mori powder were significantly lower than those for glucose and plain wheat flour noodles. The wheat flour noodles with Bombyx mori powder could help prevent an increase in postprandial glucose response and possibly provide an alternative to other carbohydrate staple foods for glycemic management.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.242-249
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• 2019

Objectives: Elderly individuals with diabetes should maintain a normal body mass index (BMI) to help control their blood glucose levels. This study investigated barriers to physical activity (PA), self-efficacy to overcome those barriers, and PA self-efficacy among elderly individuals with diabetes in relation to BMI. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 56 participants. Data were collected by a questionnaire interview and direct measurements for anthropometric data. PA self-efficacy was measured using 8 questions describing different levels of PA, where participants rated the strength of their belief that they could engage in that activity. Self-efficacy to overcome barriers was measured using 10 questions capturing participants' confidence in their ability to engage in PA despite different possible barriers. Mean scores for these parameters were analyzed using the chi-square test and the independent t-test. Results: In total, 89.3% of participants had a low PA level and 58.9% had more than 3 hours of sedentary activity per day. Furthermore, 55.4% were obese and 14.3% were overweight. The mean scores for PA self-efficacy and self-efficacy to overcome barriers were $59.1{\pm}26.4$ and $52.5{\pm}13.8$, respectively. PA level was related to BMI (p<0.001; r=0.116) and sedentary activity (p<0.05; r=0.274). PA self-efficacy and age were not related to BMI. Barriers to PA were associated with PA levels (p<0.05). Conclusions: Physical inactivity was a major problem in elderly individuals with diabetes, and was correlated with higher BMI. Lower levels of PA might be mediated by sedentary activity.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.103-111
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• 2013

In this study, we examined chewing frequency, eating rates, and food consumption volume according to the body mass index of male and female college students. Twenty-five male college students were divided into a normal weight male group (<23 body mass index, n=14) and an obese male group (${\geq}23$ body mass index, n=11). Twenty-five female college students were divided into a normal weight female group (<23 body mass index, n=21) and an obese female group (${\geq}23$ body mass index, n=4). Subjects were provided with abundant fried rice and allowed to consume it at their own pace. Chewing frequency, total mealtime, rate of eating, consumption volume, calorie intake, and the amount of one bite were measured. There were no significant differences in chewing frequency, total mealtime, rate of eating, consumption volume, calorie intake, and the amount of one bite between the normal and obese male groups. There were also no significant differences in chewing frequency, consumption volume, calorie intake, and the amount of one bite between the normal and obese female groups. However, the obese female group had a significantly shorter mealtime and significantly higher eating rate compared with the normal group. Thus, our study suggests that females who eat a meal for a longer time may reduce their food intake, consequently inducing body weight loss.