• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.517-524
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: There are limited studies investigating the eating patterns of children's favorite foods. The present study aimed to evaluate a wide range of children's favorite foods, derive its eating patterns, and identify factors related to the patterns. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A nationwide cross-sectional study included 5,458 students in elementary, middle, and high schools. The survey was conducted at each school to evaluate children's favorite food intake, including the intake frequency of 31 food items or food groups, and its related factors, such as demographic, economic, and environmental characteristics and awareness of policies on children's favorite foods. Factor analysis using varimax rotation method and logistic regression analysis were conducted. RESULTS: Two factors were derived as major eating patterns from data of children's favorite foods: the 'unhealthy eating pattern' which mainly involves confectionery, chocolate, ramen, fried food, etc.; and the 'healthy eating pattern' which mainly involves soybean milk, vegetables, fruit juice, and nuts. A stepwise selection procedure through the regression analysis revealed that allowance, use of screen media, less awareness of policies on children's favorite foods, and less interest in health were positively related to the tendency of unhealthy or less-healthy eating patterns (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study examined that the eating patterns of children's favorite foods were associated with certain environmental characteristics and awareness about the related policies. These findings suggest that a nutrition education program regarding children's favorite foods needs to be conducted according to the characteristics of students to develop their healthy eating habits and proper choice of favorite foods.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.286-297
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• 2024

Brain plasticity refers to the brain's ability to modify its structure, accompanied by its functional changes. It is influenced by learning, experiences, and dietary factors, even in later life. Accumulated researches have indicated that ginseng may protect the brain and enhance its function in pathological conditions. There is a compelling need for a more comprehensive understanding of ginseng's role in the physiological condition because many individuals without specific diseases seek to improve their health by incorporating ginseng into their routines. This review aims to deepen our understanding of how ginseng affects brain plasticity of people undergoing normal aging process. We provided a summary of studies that reported the impact of ginseng on brain plasticity and related factors in human clinical studies. Furthermore, we explored researches focused on the molecular mechanisms underpinning the influence of ginseng on brain plasticity and factors contributing to brain plasticity. Evidences indicate that ginseng has the potential to enhance brain plasticity in the context of normal aging by mediating both central and peripheral systems, thereby expecting to improve age-related declines in brain function. Moreover, given modern western diet can damage neuroplasticity in the long term, ginseng can be a beneficial supplement for better brain health.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.297-306
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• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of diabetes has continued to increase globally. Changes in eating habits, lack of exercise, increased stress, and aging are major contributors. Glycemic control is the key strategy of diabetes management. The purpose of this study was to analyze the utilization of nutrition labels and related factors among patients with diabetes. MATERIALS/METHODS: Data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used. General, health-related, diabetes-related characteristics from 1,587 adults with diabetes history were included. Nutrition label utilization was assessed with awareness and use of nutrition labels and effects on food choice. For statistical analyses, chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed. RESULTS: The prevalence of awareness, use, and effects of nutrition labels on food choice among diabetic patients were 48.8%, 11.4%, and 9.6%, respectively. High monthly income, walking frequency, family history of diabetes, younger age at diagnosis, and shorter duration of diabetes were associated with higher nutrition label awareness. Nutrition label use and effect on food choice were higher in women, those with high monthly income, those diagnosed at younger than 45 yrs, those with diabetes for less than 10 yrs, those with meal therapy, or patients who had undergone a fundus examination. CONCLUSIONS: Nutrition label utilization status was low in Korean patients with diabetes. Strategies are needed to promote nutrition label use as a diet management tool for patients with diabetes.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2023

Purpose: Obesity is associated with alterations in vitamin D metabolism and elevation of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Increased PTH level in obesity is likely one of the factors contributing to the dysregulation of vitamin D metabolism. We investigated the effects of lowering the PTH level in high-fat diet-induced obese mice on vitamin D metabolism. Methods: Five-week-old male C57BL/6N mice were fed either with control (10% energy as fat) or high-fat (60% energy as fat) diets ad libitum for 12 weeks, and vehicle or cinacalcet HCl (30 ㎍/g body weight) was gavaged daily during the final week of the experiment. The following groups were studied: CON (control diet + vehicle), HFD (high-fat diet + vehicle), and HFD-CIN (high-fat diet + cinacalcet HCl). PTH, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25[OH]₂D), 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D), calcium, and phosphate levels in circulation, and the expression of genes related to vitamin D metabolism in the liver and kidneys were determined. Results: Renal 1α-hydroxylase expression in the HFD group was higher than that in the CON group despite the lack of a difference in the PTH levels between the 2 groups. The plasma PTH level in the HFD-CIN group was 60% lower than that in the HFD group (p < 0.05). In parallel, the HFD-CIN group had lower adipose tissue amount (9% lower), renal 1α-hydroxylase expression (48% lower), and plasma 1,25(OH)₂D concentration (38% lower) than the HFD group. Conclusion: Lowering the PTH levels in high-fat diet-induced obese mice recovered the expression of renal 1α-hydroxylase and might be associated with lower amounts of white adipose tissue.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.363-371
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing health promoting lifestyle of urban bus driver in small-sized companies. Methods: This study included 118 urban bus drivers who completed questionnaires. The data were collected from 6 small-sized bus companies located in a metropolitan city, from January to February 2015. Analyses were done using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and multiple regression analysis. SPSS/Win 18.0 was used. Results: The scores of HPLP of urban bus drivers were 2.7 (on a 4-point scale). Mean of HPLP sub-scores were self-fulfillment ($3.0{\pm}0.5$), interpersonal relationship ($2.9{\pm}0.5$), physical activity ($2.9{\pm}0.7$), health responsibility ($2.7{\pm}0.5$), healthy diet ($2.6{\pm}0.6$), and stress management ($2.5{\pm}0.5$). Among independent variables, job satisfaction and presence of religion were significantly related to health promoting lifestyle (explained 39.2%). Conclusions: This study revealed that there is a need to strengthen job satisfaction for urban bus drivers' health promoting lifestyle.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.467-477
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• 2013

This study examined the health-related factors and nutritional status of 89 single women workers in their 20's who work night and day shift at the take-out coffee shops and the 89 single women office workers. The results of the study are summarized as follows: The shift-workers showed lower rate of office tenure (p < 0.001), income (p < 0.001), job satisfaction (p < 0.05), weight (p < 0.05), and higher rate of weight change (p < 0.001) than the non shift-workers. The shift-workers showed lower rate of of exercise (p < 0.001), sleeping hours (p < 0.01), and good health condition (p < 0.01), and higher rates of smoking (p < 0.001), presence of disease (p < 0.001), gastric and intestinal illnesses (p < 0.001) than the non shift-workers. More than 88.8% of the shift workers answered that they ate alone (p < 0.001). The shift workers showed lower rate of regularity of meal (p < 0.001), balanced diet (p < 0.001), and mealtime (p < 0.001), and higher rate of skipping breakfast (p < 0.001), consumption of salty and spicy food (p < 0.001), and overeating (p < 0.01) than the non shift-workers. The shift workers consumed (p < 0.001) less frequently rice, soup and side dishes, and more frequently noodles and snack, bread than the non-shift-workers. The shift workers showed lower rate of consumption of beer (p < 0.01), and higher rate of consumption of coffee (p < 0.001), tea (p < 0.01) and soju (p < 0.001) in once a week or more intakes than the non-shift-workers. The shift workers showed higher rate of consumption of carbohydrates (p < 0.05), and calcium (p < 0.05) and lower rate of consumption of protein (p < 0.05), fiber (p < 0.05), vitamin C (p < 0.05), and folate (p < 0.05) intakes than the non-shift-workers.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.170-177
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• 2015

Objectives: The goal of this study was to examine the association of various demographic and socioeconomic factors with risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods: We used nationally representative pooled data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), 2007-2013. We estimated the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation. We defined CKD as a GFR <60 mL/min/$1.73m^2$, and 1304 of the 45 208 individuals included in the KNHANES were found to have CKD by this definition. The outcome variable was whether individual subjects adhered to the CKD prevention and management guidelines recommended by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The guidelines suggest that individuals maintain a normal weight, abstain from alcohol consumption and smoking, manage diabetes and hypertension, and engage in regular exercise in order to prevent and manage CKD. Results: This study found that individuals with CKD were more likely to be obese and have hypertension or diabetes than individuals without CKD. In particular, male and less-educated CKD patients were less likely to adhere to the guidelines. Conclusions: Although the prevalence of CKD, as indicated by the KNHANES data, decreased from 2007 to 2013, the prevalence of most risk factors associated with CKD fluctuated over the same time period. Since a variety of demographic and socioeconomic factors are related to the successful implementation of guidelines for preventing and managing CKD, individually tailored prevention activities should be developed.

• Journal of The Association for Neo Medicine
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.13-23
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• 1997

Modern medicine can not solve all the problems caused by many intractable, chronic and aging related diseases hence more people have come to recognize the role of foods for the promotion of good health as well as prevention from illness. Further more, controlled diet are proven to be used as effective cures for certain diseases. In this paper, the definition, functional factors and mechanisms of designer(funtional) foods are reviewed. Especially, the biofuntional activities of herbal medicines which also can be treated as designer foods are intensively noted in this paper.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.145-155
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• 2016

Cow's milk and dairy products are elements of the human diet that could play an important role in improving human health. The macronutrients and micronutrients found in milk could supply the nutrients required to maintain human health. Among them, milk-derived bioactive peptides have been identified as potential ingredients found in health promoting functional foods. These bioactive peptides target diet-related chronic diseases, particularly non-communicable ones such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Additionally probiotics such as lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are can be considered live microorganisms that confer health benefits for the host-, when administered in adequate amounts. Further, the calcium, vitamin D, and protein content of milk and dairy products could play a role in proving bone health. The effect of milk and calcium on bone mineral density could prevent against fracture, osteoporosis and rickets. Furthermore, milk and dairy products also contain which factors that, which protect against dental caries (anti-cariogenic properties). This paper reviews the various nutritional functions of milk and dairy products in improving human health.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.722-731
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• 1999

The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors associated with health and diet by nutritional status. The subjects were the children aged 2 to 6. Physicians and nurses measured children's anthropometries and examined their blood and urine. Interviewers questioned children's food habits to their mothers. 24 hour recall was done for children with their mother. The nutritional status was classified to 'underweight', 'normal weight' and 'overweight' by weight for height(median±1 S.D.) of the reference population. The number of subjects in each group(under, normal, over) was 25, 130 and 49. Factors including anthropometry and hemoglobin concentration were not significantly dif ferent by the nutritional status. The birth weight of children was correlated positively to mothers' BMI. Z scores of weight for height were related to the birth weight positively by the analysis of variance. The children of the underweight group used nutritional supplements more frequently than those of normal and overweight group. The nutrient intakes of normal weight group were higher than those of low and overweight group. Particularly, the intakes of energy, carbohydrate and calcium were significantly high among the groups. In terms of number of foods, food groups and dishes consumed per day, the children of the normal weight group ate more diversely than other groups but the differences were not significant. In conclusion, the children of normal weight group had similar characteristics with other groups but had more desirable dietary intakes than other groups in this study. Because the diet of children may be different by the nutritional status, nutrition education for children should be conducted according to the characteristics of each group's diet.