• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.530-538
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Calcium is important but deficient in diets of young adult women. This study aimed to examine if cognitive factors and eating behaviors differ according to calcium intake based on the Social Cognitive Theory. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Subjects were female college students in Seoul, Korea. Three hundred students completed the questionnaire regarding calcium intake, nutrition knowledge, outcome expectations, self-efficacy and eating behaviors. Data on 240 students were analyzed using t-test or ${\chi}^2$-test. Subjects were categorized into two groups, high calcium intake (HC, ${\geq}650mg/day$) and low calcium intake (LC, < 650 mg/day), according to recommended intakes of calcium for women aged 19-29 years. RESULTS: The LC group constituted 77.9% of total subjects. Nutrition knowledge was not different according to calcium intake. Three out of 12 outcome expectations items were significantly different between the HC and LC groups. Subjects in the HC group agreed more strongly with the practical benefits of consuming calcium-rich foods, including 'taste' (P < 0.01) and 'going well with other snacks' (P < 0.05), compared to those in the LC group. Negative expectations of 'indigestion' were stronger in the LC group than HC group (P < 0.001). Among self-efficacy items, perceived ability of 'eating dairy foods for snacks' (P < 0.001), 'eating dairy foods every day' (P < 0.01), and 'eating calcium-rich side dishes at meals' (P < 0.05) differed significantly between the HC and LC groups. Eating behaviors including more frequent consumption of dairy foods, fruits or fruit juice (P < 0.001), anchovy, seaweeds, green vegetables, protein-rich foods (P < 0.05), and less frequent consumption of sweets or soft drinks (P < 0.01) were significantly related to calcium intake. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that outcome expectations, self-efficacy in consuming calcium-rich foods, and eating behaviors are important in explaining calcium intake. Nutrition education needs to address practical benefits, reduce negative expectations of calcium-rich foods, increase self-efficacy, and modify eating behaviors contributing to calcium intake.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.42-48
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• 2005

This study was done to investigate effects of antioxidant supplementation on phytohemagglutinin (PHA) -stimulated interleukin-2 (IL-2) production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in elderly women. This study was designed as a placebo-controlled, single-blinded, randomized intervention trial. Twenty four elderly women aged over 60 years, visitings social welfare center in Seoul were divided into 3 groups, placebo (n = 8), vitamin C supplemented (n = 8) , and vitamin E supplemented (n = 8) groups. Experimental groups were given either 1000mg of L-ascorbic acid or 400 ill of d- $\alpha$-tocopherol for 4 weeks. There was no significant difference in antioxidant vitamins intakes and their plasma levels among pre-intervention groups. Plasma vitamin C or E levels was significantly increased after vitamin C or E sup-plementations. The increases of plasma thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) levels in the placebo group were significantly higher than those of the supplemented 2 groups. There were no significant differences in the changes of plasma IL-2 level between pre- and post-intervention among the 3 groups. However there was a significant increase in PHA­stimulated IL-2 production by PBMCs after 4-week vitamin E or vitamin C supplementation. Particularly, vitamin E supplemented group showed a higher PHA-stimulated IL-2 production than vitamin C supplemented group. These results indicate that vitamin E or vitamin C supplementation might enhance mitogen-stimulated cytokine production by immune cells, which could be one of the factors to improve health status in the elderly.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.426-438
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to examine bowel habits, dietary habits, and nutrient intake of constipated adults, and the effects of prune products on relieving constipation symptoms. Fifty one adults with self-reported constipation (mean age 23 years, range 19-41 years, 10 males and 41 females) participated in this study. After a baseline survey on bowel habits and dietuy habits, participants were asked to consume at least 50 g of prune and 200 ml of prune juice per day during a 4-week period in addition to usual diet. Nutrient intake was estimated by a 24 hour recall at the baseline and once every week by diet records during the intervention. Data were analyzed after classifying the subjects into mild constipation group and severe constipation group by the severity of the symptoms. During the intervention, the subjects with mild constipation consumed 56 g of prunes (about 5.6 fruits) and 200 ml of prune juice, and the subjects with severe constipation consumed 59 g of prunes (about 5.9 fruits) and 207 ml of prune juice. Average intakes of energy, dietary fiber and water of the subjects in the mild constipation and severe constipation group increased during the intervention compared to the baseline. Average dietary fiber intake of the mild constipation and severe constipation groups significantly increased from 12.5 g and 11.6 g at the baseline to 18.5 g and 16.8 g after consuming prune products, respectively. These changes were accompanied by an increase in the number of bowel movements, a decrease of defecation time, a change to a softer stool consistency, and a decrease of abdominal pain during defecation. Seventy two subjects answered that prune products were effective to improve their overall constipation symptoms. Our data show that supplementation of prune products is effective to provide energy, dietary fiber and water, and to relieve constipation symptoms for constipated adults.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.39 no.8
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• pp.832-840
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• 2006

This study was performed to investigate the relationship between diet quality and food cost and identify the effects of food cost on healthy diet among Korean adult. Among the subjects of 2001 National Health and Nutrition Survey 1,641 men and 1,765 women aged from 30 to 49 years were selected and their information of dietary intakes, socio-demo-graphic information, and anthropometric data were analyzed. For the analysis, subjects were classified to quartile based on their daily food cost. Food guidelines provided by Korean Nutrition Society was regarded as a model of healthy diet. Subjects in the lowest quartile of food cost consumed inadequate amount of food from all food categories of the guidelines. Many subjects in the highest quartile not only satisfied the recommended amount of the Food Guide but also seemed to overeat high energy density foods. Even in the highest quartile, about 90% of subjects did not satisfied recommended amount of dairy products. According to the calculated cost of healthy diet, the average cost did not seem to be more expensive than the current mean food cost of the subjects, and most cost-sensitive food intake was observed in the meat fish beans eggs category. The implications of study results were: 1) all the high cost diets did not indicate the high quality of diet, 2) most practical matter of healthy diet in low income group seemed whether they could afford the expense of meat and fish, 3) nutrition education was required to most subjects for healthy diet.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.301-311
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• 1985

Even though the anticarcinogenic effect of dietary factors especially beta - carotene has been reported by various investigators, the mechanism of the action of ${\beta}-carotene$ has not yet been identified. We carried out the present study to determine the possibilities of relative cancer risk related to dietary intake of vitamin A ( both ${\beta}-carotene$ and retinol ) and blood levels of vitamin A among Koreans. The subjects were divided into two groups; cancer patients and controls. Blood levels for ${\beta}-carotene$ and retinol were analyzed by alumina column chromatography and colorimetry. Dietary intake was examined by food profile and convenient method for evaluating nutritional status through recalling 10 years of food habits. The results obtained are as follows : 1 ) Calorie, protein, fat, and carbohydrate intakes of cancer patient were lower than those of control. Calorie and carbohydrate intakes showed no significant difference but protein and fat intakes were significantly lower in cancer patients. According to cancer sites, in stomach cancer only fat intake was significantly lower than that of control. In lung and larynx cancer calorie, protein, fat and carbohydrate intakes showed similar trend as in control. 2 ) Vitamin A intake of cancer patient was significantly lower than that of control. It was estimated that 83.6% of total Vitamin A intake were provided by ${\beta}-carotene$ for control and cancer patient respectively. 3 ) The mean intake of dietary ${\beta}-carotene$ in cancer patient was significantly lower than that in control ( $7002\;\mu}g/day$ versus $10326\;{\mu}g/day$ ) According to cancer sites in mean intake of dietary ${\beta}-carotene$ was significantly lower in all but stomach cancer compared with that of control. Lung and larynx cancer showed lowest ${\beta}-carotene$ intake with mean value of $5855{\mu}g/day$ and $5492{\mu}g/day$ respectively. 4 ) The mean intake of dietary retinol in cancer patient was significantly lower than that in control ( $245{\mu}g/day$ versus $338{\mu}g/day$ ), but the difference was not significant. 5 ) The relative risk of all cancers in the first (lowest) to the forth quartile level of ${\beta}-carotene$ consumption such as $0-5999{\mu}g/day$. $6000-8999{\mu}g/day$, $9000-11999{\mu}g/day$/ day and $12000-20000{\mu}g/day$ was 85 : 1.7 : 20 : 1.0. The relative risk of all cancers in the first (lowest) to the forth quartile level of retinol consumption, such as $0-299{\mu}g/day$, $300-599{\mu}g/day$, 600-899${\mu}g/day$, and $900-1200{\mu}g/day$, was 1.14 : 067 : 0.21 : 1.0. 6 ) The various food group consumption of cancer patient were significantly lower than those of control in green leafy vegetables, fruits, sea weeds, milk and cheese and eggs. But the Kimchie consumption in cancer patient was three fold higher than that of control ( $1840\;{\mu}g/day$ versus $562\;{\mu}g/day$ ) and in the stomach cancer, Kimchie consumption was the highest, ( $1890\;{\mu}g/day$) According to cancer sites, the consumption of green leafy vegetables was significantly lower in all but stomach cancer compared to control and other vegetables showed no difference between two. In lung and larynx cancer, green leafy vegetables consumption was lowest ( $6094{\mu}g/day$ $5921{\mu}g/day$) and milk and cheese consumption was also( $5\;{\mu}g/day$ and $11{\mu}g/day$) 7 ) The recovery of ${\beta}-carotene$ from human serum by alumina column chromatography was $94.4{\pm}2.3%$. 8 ) Cancer patients showed significantly lower serum retinol ($56.4{\pm}18.1\:{\mu}g/100ml$ versus $72.2{\pm}21.8\:{\mu}g/100ml$) and ${\beta}-carotene$ ($48.9{\pm}33.8\:{\mu}g/100ml$ versus $72.2{\pm}42.6\:{\mu}g/100ml$) concentrations than in controls. 9 ) But breast cancer patients were not significantly different from controls in their serum retinol and ${\beta}-carotene$ concentrations.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.272-282
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• 1985

A dietary survey by 3-day food record, clinical examination, urinary riboflavin excretion, and erythrocyte glutathione reductase activity coefficient ( EGRAC ) were measured on forty -eight female college students residing in Seoul. Thirty -one students were on normal diet and seventeen were lacto - ovo vegetarians. The results are as following : (1) Students had lower intakes of energy, similar intakes of protein and higher intake of riboflavin compared to Korean RDA for their age group. Vegetarians were lower in energy and protein intakes but were similar in RF compared to omnivores. (2) Mean EGRAC values were $1.24{\pm}0.03$ for all subjects, $1.19{\pm}0.04$ for omnivores, and $1.32{\pm}0.06$ for vegetarians. Percentages of subjects with EGRAC values above 1.2 were 65% in all subjects, 55% in omnivores, and 82% in vegetarians. Therefore, it was concluded that vegetarians were more severe in biochemical lesions than omnivores despite the fact that their RF intakes were similar to omnivores. (3) Eighteen students who had EGRAC values above 1.2 were given daily supplementation of 5mg RF for one week and EGRAC determination was repeated. They all returned to normal range. (4) Correlation analyses showed that there was no significant correlation between the EGRAC values and dietary intakes of nutrients. Possible explanations for this were given. From these results, it was concluded that even though dietary RF intakes of the subjects were higher than Korean RDA levels, biochemical deficiency among the subjects was remarkably high if the criteria of EGRAC > 1.2 were used. More investigations are necessary to establish a criteria for biochemical deficiency and RDA levels of riboflavin for Koreans.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.370-376
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• 2002

This study was designed to investigate lunch of the boy's and girl's middle school students in Busan. The survey was conducted from September 15 to September 30 in 2002. It was revealed that there is no difference in the scores measuring the knowledge In nutrition and the eating habit between male students and females. 10.6 % of the male students scored poor in the knowledge in nutrition, 38.2% fair 42.5% good and 8.7% excellent respectively while 4.1% of the female students scored poor in the same area, 31.6% fair, 52.1% good and 12.2% excellent respectively. The biggest number of both group of students scored good in their eating habit, the second biggest fair, the third biggest excellent and the least scored poor. Female students were reported to bring their lunch more than the male students do(p<0.05). And there was a significantly difference in the frequency of bringing lunch according to their knowledge in nutrition and their dietary attitude(p<0.001), but whether mothers have .jobs or not, mothers'educational background or monthly expenses for food didn't seem to make any differences. The intakes of nutritional elements except phosphorus and vitamin C are lower than RDA. The ratio of intakes of nutritional elements from lunch was 13∼14.1% of calcium, 17.9∼19.2% of vitamin A and 19.3∼19.6% of iron, showing a significant unbalance in nutritional intakes. Nutritional intakes had little relationship with the knowledge in nutrition and eating habit. The frequency of carrying lunch, energy intakes and phosphorus intakes had significantly relationship with each other. And the better the eating habit was, the more often the individual carried lunch.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.160-167
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• 2007

This study was performed to investigate the effects of regular exercise on dietary factors and obesity indices among 407 healthy adult males subjects. Subjects were classified into regular exercise group (REG) and irregular exercise group (IREG). Two hundred and thirteen subjects of REG excercised regularly 3 times (more than 30 minutes/time) per week during more than last 1 month or more. One hundred and ninety-four of IREG (n = 194) didn't regularly exercise during the last 1 month. Obesity indices were BMI (Body Mass Index), WHR (Waist Hip Ratio) and PIBW (Percentage of Ideal Body Weight). And the mean BMI, WHR and PIBW of REG were (22.1, 0.90 and 105.8) significantly lower than those of IREG (25.7, 0.98 and 117.7) respectively. The mean daily starches, seeds, meats, eggs, fish, milk, fats and processed food intakes of REG were significantly lower than those of IREG And the mean daily vegetables, mushrooms and beverages intakes of the IREG were significantly lower than REG. Energy intake of REG and IREG were 1968.2 kcal and 1978.9 kcal respectively. Vitamin C intake of IREG was significantly lower than REG. But niacin and cholesterol intake of REG were significantly lower than the IREG. Exercise regularity was positively related with obesity indices and dietary factors. Therefore, it is necessary to exercise regularly to prevent obesity and cardiovascular disease in Korean adult males.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.157-162
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• 2011

The importance of dietary intake in the treatment of type 2 diabetes was emphasized. This study was performed to investigate the dietary intakes of Korean type 2 diabetes patients according to the treatment and duration of diabetes and to examine the relationships between their diet and serum lipid profiles. The subjects were 111 type 2 diabetic patients who were treated by medical nutrition therapy only, oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA), or insulin with medical nutrition therapy. Dietary intake was assessed by a registered dietitian using semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires Comparisons according to treatment type were made using covariance analyses. General linear models identified the independent effects of the different treatments after covarying for age, duration of diabetes, and 2-way interactions. There were no significant differences in age and BMI but was in duration of diabetes according to treatment type in these subjects. Carbohydrate to energy ratio was higher in the OHA group (P < 0.05), whereas the fat to energy ratio was higher in the insulin group for males (P < 0.05). Carbohydrate ($R^2$ = 0.24, P = 0.005) and fat ($R^2$ = 0.26, P = 0.02) to energy ratios were independently associated with the duration of diabetes after covarying for age, sex, treatment, and 2-way interactions. The levels of triglyceride (TG; $R^2$ = 0.32, P = 0.02) and total cholesterol (TC) were associated independently with energy intake and the carbohydrate ($R^2$ = 0.15, P = 0.02) and fat ($R^2$ = 0.15, P = 0.01) to energy ratios, respectively. The concern that the independent association of dietary intake with either duration of diabetes or dietary factors affects blood lipid levels could suggest that specific dietary recommendations may work better for identifiable groups of diabetes patients.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.192-201
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• 2003

The purposes of this research were to assess dietary fatty acid patterns and to elucidate the relationship between the serum cholesterol levels and dietary fatty acid patterns, plasma fatty acid compositions, BMI (body mass index), and other lipid profile. The subjects were 151 adults aged 23 to 80 years, selected from the Outpatient Clinic and Cardiova-scular Department of the Seoul Municipal Hospital. Dietary data were obtained using three day food records. Sixteen dietary fatty acids were analyzed using Korean and US nutrient databases. The subjects were divided into three serum cholesterol levels: desirable (< 200 mg/dl, N = 44), borderline-risk ($\geq$ 200 - < 240 mg/dl, N = 35), and high-risk ($\geq$ 240 mg/dl, N = 72) groups. The high-risk group had higher BMI, waist, and waist to hip ratio (WHR) than the desirable and borderline-risk groups. Serum concentrations of triglyceride, LDL cholesterol and LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio were significantly higher in the high-risk group as compared to those in the other two groups. The serum cholesterol levels were highly correlated with BMI (r = 0.435), triglyceride (r = 0.425) and LDL/HDL cholesterol (r = 0.870) ratio. The highest fatty acid intake was from oleic acid (33 - 34% of total fatty acid intakes), which was followed by linoleic acid (27%), palmitic acid (19%), and stearic acid (7%). There was no correlation between the serum cholesterol levels and the dietary fatty acid intakes, polyunsaturateumonounsaturateusaturated fatty acids (P/M/S) and $\omega$6/$\omega$3 ratios. The correlation between plasma fatty acids such as myristic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid and serum cholesterol levels was also weak. (Korean J Community Nutrition 8(2) : 192~201, 2003)