• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2022

Background & Objectives: Self-rated health has been widely used to evaluate health status and accepted as a subjective measurement of quality of life. This study aimed to analyze the associations between self-rated health, health promotion behaviors, and mental health factors and suggest the approaches to improve health status among university students. Methods: Two thousand six hundred seventy-seven students who had stayed at dormitories on campus participated in the DU health survey by self-reported questionnaire from April 10 to 14, 2017. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of association of self-rated health with health-related factors among male and female students. Results: 38.6% of the respondents reported good self-rated health. Male and first-year students were more likely to report good self-rated health than female and third-year students. There were significant differences in sex, grade, health problems, BMI, sleeping hours, eating breakfast, consumption of fruits and vegetables, physical activity (regular walking, strength exercise, moderate exercise, vigorous exercise), perceived stress, depression, and suicide thought (p<0.05). Conclusion: Although health promotion programs for university students are essential to support their adaptation to campus life and academic achievement, evidence-based health programs to encourage their participation are still insufficient. Therefore, it should establish a campus-based health policy and develop health promotion programs to increase self-rated health levels and prevent mental health problems for university students.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.103-121
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• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the entire world population in many ways. This study aimed to analyze the patterns of changes in eating, food purchasing and preparation, physical activity, and subjective health after COVID-19 outbreak by various sociodemographic factors and to understand the factors associated with changes in subjective health. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using a representative sample from Seoul was used for the analysis. The data collection was conducted from September to October 2020. A total of 3,833 citizens aged more than 18 years old participated in the Seoul Food Survey. Descriptive statistics and generalized ordinal logistic regression models were used to understand the changes in health behaviors, health indicators, and subjective general health by various socioeconomic status. RESULTS: It was shown that the changes in household income, food expenditure, food consumption and physical activities differed significantly by age, education, occupation, income, weight, and food security status. Low-income and food-insecure households were affected more severely by the pandemic. Older age, household food insecurity, income reduction, increased home cooking and frequency of having instant foods, decreased physical activity and weight gain were significant factors explaining worse perceived health during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that focusing on older populations and low-income families with food insecurity should be prioritized during infectious disease outbreaks. In addition, the role of physical activities and instant food consumption in explaining perceived health should be investigated further in this prolonged battle with the pandemic situation.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.119-131
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• 2024

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Happiness is an important factor in life, and food literacy (FL) has been emphasized as a core concept for a happy and healthy life. This study examined the level of happiness of Seoul citizens according to their sociodemographic factors and their association with FL. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This study used the data from the Seoul Food Survey, a cross-sectional study conducted on 4,039 Seoul citizens from September to October 2021. FL was measured using a validated questionnaire consisting of 33 items from 3 sub-domains: 14 items in the nutrition and safety domain, 8 items in the cultural and relational domain, and 11 items in the socio-ecological domain. Statistical analysis involved descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS: Various sociodemographic factors, such as household income, subjective health status, and food insecurity, were found to be associated with the level of happiness. The level of FL was also associated with the happiness scores. After adjusting for variables associated with happiness, the participants with the highest quartile FL scores were 7.32 times more likely to respond that they were happy than those with the lowest FL score. Three FL domains and total FL showed linear increases in overall happiness after controlling for subjective health status and sociodemographic factors (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: After adjusting for the related covariates, higher levels of FL were associated with higher scores in happiness. Based on this study, it would be meaningful to evaluate ways to intervene in FL to improve the level of happiness among the general population.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.295-312
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• 2004

This study is to investigate the trend of researches on food and culture from 1990 to 2003. With a literary approach, this paper analyzes how many papers were published and what was the major research subject. We classified the journals published during this time into 10 different categories and we are to grasp a research trend. 1) Historical approach on the traditional food and food habit; 2) Globalization of Koran food; 3) Use and preparation for traditional food; 4) Table setting and table manner; 5) Provincial cuisine; 6) Traditional festive food or celebratory meal; 7) Religious food; 8) Fusion food; 9) Food and culture in foreign countries and food habit of Korean people living abroad; 10) Studies related with satins out. It was revealed that 268 papers(=ps) were published. Eating out was the most frequently reported subject(100 ps), followed by provincial cuisine(54 ps), use and preparation for traditional food(49 ps), food habit for foreign people and Korean people living abroad(22 ps). Researches on these 4 topics have been accelerated since the late half of 1990s. This reflects the social factors such as rapid growth of food service industry, settlement of local autonomy, popularization of leisure activities and accelerated introduction of foreign food and culture. Half of the studies on the eating out dealt with eating out behavior. And 30 papers were reports on the food service industry situations. More than half of the studies on the provincial cuisine(26 ps) were concentrated on digging out recipes. Studies on the use and preparation for traditional food were mainly about what kind of food and how often the food is used(17 ps). Kimchi was the most frequently studied food. There were 11 papers regarding food and culture in foreign countries. Most of the authors were historians or linguists. Food habit of Korean people living abroad were investigated in 7 papers. There was few studies on fusion food, table setting and table manner. This doesn't meet with increasing demand for specialized information in then fields. Researches on the traditional festive food or celebratory meal(5 ps) and religious food(9 ps) were negligible. Papers on the historical approach to the traditional food and food habit were limited(12 ps). Moreover, most of them were patchwork of existing literatures. Continuous researches to exploit the historical facts based on literary proof should be tried with patience. Otherwise, the papers will copy the hackneyed knowledge repeatedly. Globalization of Korean food means the development of Korean food for foreign people and export of them worldwide. Only 16 papers were reported on this subject, 14 of them were published after 2000, 8 of them were surveys on the foreigners' food preference. In order to get practical informations on what we develope and how we sell for the foreign customers, profound research on their food habit should be done.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.229-239
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• 2019

Rapid economic development has changed the dietary habits and patterns. Especially, western style diet has increased the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in Korea. To provide more specific and appropriate diet guideline for the prevention and for the treatment of T2DM, the investigation on the characteristics of diebetic patients related to the diet needs to be done. In this study, we therefore analyzed eating behaviors, dietary attitudes, and intake of food and nutrients of normal subjects (control, n=26) and diabetic patients (case, n=18) diagnosed T2DM within one year in Daegu Gyeongbuk area. Body mass index of the patients were significantly higher than the control (p<0.05). Overeating, high fried food and low whole grain intake were revealed as risk factors for T2DM. From the food frequency questionnaire analysis, salty foods such as fermented soybean paste (Doenjang) and watery Kimch intake were associated with T2DM. Intake of vegetable lipid, ${\beta}$-carotene, calcium, copper, and vitamin K were also shown to be associated with T2DM. Taken together, these findings suggest that maintaining ideal body weight and intake the foods with low salt, fat, and refined grain in appropriate amount may help to prevent and to manage T2DM.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.417-425
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• 2020

There is a growing global interest in food choices that could affect health. Consumer food choices are dictated by numerous factors such as attitudes, beliefs, desires and preferences stemming from psychological and physiological attributes. The present study aimed to understand consumers' internal perceptions about cream soup, cream sauce, and tomato sauce using ZMET (Zaltman's Metaphor Elicitation Technique). The 9 step ZMET interview process was conducted for a sample of 36 consumers (12 consumers for each sauce). A content analysis of the survey results was carried out. From this, 56 concepts of cream soup were derived, and 15 constructs that met with the agreement of more than one-third of the total sample consumers were extracted. These 15 constructs included 'Soft', 'Recollection', 'Familiar', 'Warm', 'Comfortable', etc. Similarly, for cream sauce, 67 concepts and 20 constructs 'Silky', 'Warm', 'Restaurant', 'Family', 'Memory', etc. were deduced. A total of 66 concepts and 20 constructs for tomato sauce 'Sourness', 'Sauce Bottle', 'Pleasant', 'Ingredient', 'Cooking', etc. were derived. The analysis of consumers' consensus maps through this study provides a deep and useful understanding of consumers and their latent needs. Also, the results of this study indicate that exploring consumers' internal perceptions is critical to understanding their healthy food choices. This can be used as basic data for formulating marketing strategies.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.102-114
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• 2002

This study was performed to assess the relationship between diet quality and general characteristics, stress, exercise habits, and nutritional knowledge score in the postmenopausal women. The data of dietary intakes were obtained using food frequency questionnaires which were collected from 151 postmenopausal women in urban area. Diet quality was assessed by INQ(index of nutritional quality), MAR(mean adequacy ratio), DDS(dietary diversity score), DVS(dietrary variety score), DQI(diet quality index). The results are summarized as follows. The mean age of the subjects was 59.9 years old. The means of height, weight, and BMI were 154.7cm, 57.2kg and 23.9 respectively. The subjects who did not exercise regularly were 70.9% and those who excercised at least once a week were 29.1%. The subjects who had regular meal time were 69.5% and those who ate breakfast regularly were 72.6%. More than 2/3 of subjects had regular eating behavior. Overall dict quality was significantly(p < 0.05) associated with INQ, MAR, DDS, DQI. However, there was no significant association between income level and diet quality. In conclusion, it would be beneficial to provide nutritional education included dietary diversity, dietary variety, dietary guideline, and adequate flood amount, to prevent chronic degenerative disease and maintain healthful life in the postmenopausal women.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1117-1128
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• 1995

This study investigated whether social and psychological factors were related to nutritional status of the elderly. Food habits, social contacts and psychological the test score were collected from 86 institutionalized elderly women aged 65-96 in Chon-buk area. Social health status was measured by score of social contacts with others. Depression, self-esteem and locus of control were measured to evaluate psychological health status by using Zung DSI(Depression Status Intentory), Rosenberg SES(Self-esteem scale) and Rotter's vs external control, respectively. Social contacts of the total subjects were lowered, and in the group of over 85, contacts with relatives were significantly decreased compare to under 85 years of age groups. Psychological health status such as depression and self-esteem were also lowered, but locus of control showed internal control that indicates positive attitude to eating behavior. Most of the nutrients intake were positively correlated to self-esteem scores(p<0.05), but not to nutritional risk index score. Intake of vitamin C was related to social health status as well as psychological health status. Increasing the number of contact with relatives, intakes of carbohydrates, fiber, vit B1, vit C, Ca and P were elevated(p<0.05). As the score of self-esteem increased, intakes of fiber, Fe, vit B1, niacin, vit C, and vit A were increased. It is suggested that social activity and health education programs will be needed to improve the nutritional status of the institutionalized elderly.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.71-86
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• 2003

Over the past few decades, changes in patterns of behavior (e.g., diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity) have led to major changes in health status, characterized by increases in obesity, Type II diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers. This epidemiologic transition is largely the result of rapid increases in immigration to developed countries and rural-urban migration within developing countries, which is usually accompanied by environmental and lifestyle changes. In particular, adoption of “Western” dietary patterns, which tend to be high in fat and low in fruits and vegetables, is of concern since diet is a potent contributor to chronic disease risk. However, until recently, the process by which immigrants and rural-urban migrants adopt the dietary practices predominant in their new environments, known as dietary acculturation, has received very little research attention. Dietary acculturation is multidimensional, dynamic, and complex, and varies considerably depending on a variety of personal, cultural, and environmental characteristics. Therefore, to intervene successfully on the negative aspects of dietary acculturation, it is important to understand the process and identify factors that predispose and enable it to occur. The purpose of this article is to provide a practical model for understanding and investigating the effect of dietary acculturation on food and nutrient intake. Thus, this report 1) gives an overview of acculturation, 2) defines dietary acculturation and presents a model for how it occurs, 3) discusses measurement issues around dietary acculturation,4) reviews the literature on dietary acculturation in Korean Americans; 4) suggests a paradigm for acculturation research; and 5) offers some recommendations for future research in this area.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.803-813
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to investigate the anthropometric and blood biochemical characteristics, the dietary behaviors and health-related lifestyles of obese children in Incheon. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using anthropometric measurements, biochemical assessments and questionnaire analysis. The subjects included 7,055 obese children residing in the Incheon area (from 106 elementary schools). The degree of obesity was classified using the Obesity Index (OI) as light 20% ＜ OI ＜ 30% ; Medium 30% ＜ OI ＜ 50% ; Severe 50% ＞ OI. The statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 10.0 program. Most subjects fell within the medium range of obesity. Most subjects had dietary problems such as overeating, unbalanced meals and skipping breakfast. The ratio of boy subjects eating green and yellow vegetables was lowe. when compared to that of the girl subjects. The boy subjects exercised more frequently and longer than the girls. As the Obesity Index increased, hypercholesterolemia significantly increased. The blood cholesterol levels of the subjects were positively correlated with body fat, waist/hip ratio and BMI; HDL cholesterol levels of the subjects were negatively correlated with the anthropometric data and the LDL cholesterol levels of the subjects were positively correlated with body fat. The blood triglycerides levels of the subjects were positively correlated with body weight, body fat, waist/hip ratio and BMI. Therefore, proper nutritional education and intervention are required for an improvement of obese children＇s dietary behavior, heath-related factors and blood lipid profiles.