• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.729-738
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• 1998

Background and purpose : Stroke is a leading cause of death in Korea. Early measures to prevent stroke are extremely important since it has no cure. Korean might have different risk factors since their dietary habits and socio-economical status differ from most western countries. However, the risk factors for stroke in Korea have not yet been identified. Moreover, the lifestyle of healthy Korean adults has not been investigated. In this study we investigate the lifestyle of healthy adults living in Seoul and rural areas and compare the lifestyles of the two. Methods : One hundred seventy one subjects were studied. Among the subjects studied, 128 were from Seoul, the other 43 were from the country area. The age of the subjects was limited to over 40 years. Blood pressure, fast blood sugar, and cholesterol were measured. The subjects' height, weight, body mass index, total body fat, skinfolds thickness of triceps, subscapular and abdomen were measured to determine obesity. Using a structured interview, we assessed : sodium intake, physical activity and exercise, consumption of vegetables, fat, fish and fruits. The results of the two groups were compared. Results : There were no statistical differences in age and education between the two groups of subjects. The mean age of the subjects were 66 years old. The subjects residing in rural areas had a higher intake of sodium(p<0.05), lower physical activity(P<0.05), and higher BMI and body fat (p<0.05) as compared to the subjects in Seoul. Subjects with hypertension were between 24% and 33% and the prevalence of hypertension was the highest when compared to the prevalence of DM or hypercholesterolemia. However, the prevalence of hypertension, DM, hypercholesterolemia, were not significantly different in these areas. Conclusion : Our results show that subjects living in rural areas eat more salty food, exercise less, and tend to be obese. The finding of this study lead to speculation that Korean living in rural areas have less information about the effects of diet on health than city dwellers do. General health and nutrition education programs aimed at the prevention of stroke and other such conditions for rural area Koreans may close the risk factor gap between rural and urban dwellers.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.519-532
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to make a comparative analysis of dietary habits, snacks, eating out and fast-food intake between students with a relatively early sexual maturity and others with a relatively late sexual maturity in a bid to grasp the impact of dietary behaviors on sexual maturity. The subjects in this study were 565 boys and girls who resided in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. They included fifth- and sixth-grade school children and seventh-grade middle school students. To classify the selected students according to the level of sexual maturity, the students of the same month age were divided into two groups in consideration of the stage of their sexual maturity and that of the other age groups. The early mature group was significantly taller and weighed more than the late mature group irrespective of gender. According to Tanner stages, the boys of the early mature group reached a 3.03 stage of sexual maturity when the sexual organs were taken into account, and those of the late mature group reached a 1.50 stage of sexual maturity. The girls of the early mature group reached a 3.43 stage of sexual maturity on the basis of breast, and those of the late mature group reached a 2.73 stage of sexual maturity. Concerning eating out, the early mature group ate out more frequently than the late mature group. In regard to snacks, the early mature group had a snack more often. The findings of the study indicated that there were differences in physical development and some dietary behaviors according to sexual maturity. The early mature group had a snack and ate out relatively more often than the late mature group, which showed that some dietary behaviors had an impact on the sexual maturity of the teens who arrived at the age of puberty.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.445-453
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• 2020

Purpose: Community child centers (CCCs) were introduced to provide after-school activities and care, including meal services to children from low-income families. The assistant cooks, who have the main responsibility for making and serving food at CCCs, are a major factor influencing the eating habits of children using CCCs. In this study, we tried to identify and understand who the assistant cooks are, what their job responsibilities are, and what they need in order to be able to provide children with healthy meals. Methods: Three focus group interviews were held with 17 workfare program participants who worked as assistant cooks at CCCs, and content analysis methods were applied using the NVivo 12 qualitative data analysis software. Results: The assistant cooks reflected on their perceptions of the children's health at the CCCs, their own cooking style, and their role at the CCCs. Additionally, barriers to the optimal provision of their services were pointed out, and improvements were suggested. Conclusion: The results of this study can be used as a fundamental resource for the development of tailored interventions that consider a child's unique environment to address health disparities, specifically with respect to childhood obesity.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.51-61
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• 2009

Objectives: The objective of this study was to identify the factors associated with the percentage of body fat and bone mineral density (BMD). Methods: 886 students of the 4, 5, 6th grade were sampled from 6 elementary schools in Daejeon city from May to June 2005. Participants completed the questionnaire on socio-demographic factors, eating habits and physical activities, and had the measurements of body composition, BMD, height and weight. T-test, one-way ANOVA and ANCOVA were used to compare body composition and BMD among groups defined by study factors. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the factors related with percentage of fat and BMD in each sex. Results: When adjusting age, height, weight and family income, the amount of food intake and regular exercise including the days of exercise per week and the daily exercise duration were significantly associated with percentage of fat in boys, but not in girls. When adjusting the same variables, regular exercise, the days of exercise per week and the daily exercise duration were positively associated with BMD in both sexes. Conclusion: Regular exercise with one or more days per week were the common factor to decrease percentage of fat and increase BMD in school children. This showed that regular exercise program could improve the body composition of school children.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.57-69
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• 2011

Objectives: Purpose of this study is to analyze and to estimate which and how much genetic and environmental factors have affected on growth. Also, a method of final height prediction can be developed from this study results. Methods: Correlation analysis and categorical regression analysis were conducted between genetic and environmental factors correlated with the final adult height, through survey from 171 male. Results: Mid parental height, neonatal body weight, intake frequency of beef, chicken, milk, fruits and coffee, sleep quantity and quality during the elementary school and sleep quantity during the middle school have affected on the final adult height. And a regression equation with 0.494 for coefficient of determination was obtained. Conclusions: Mid-parental-height has the most affected on the final adult height. Among environmental factors, food and sleep have significantly affected, but exercise doesn't. Among foods, meal, beef, and milk intake have remarkably affected on the final height, and chicken and fruit also have affected in some degree, but coffee has affected badly. Among sleep habits, sleep quantity during the elementary school has the most affected, sleep quality during the elementary school and sleep quantity during the middle school also have affected in some degree on final height. The younger the age is, the more sleep have affected and sleep quantity have more affected than sleep quality. Neonatal weight also has remarkably affected on the final height. Through this analysis, the final adult height can be predicted using regression equation which covers 49.4% of genetic and environmental factors.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.357-361
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• 2017

During civil engineering construction near Sejong-ro, Jongro-ku, Seoul, cultural sites were found that are thought to have been built in the 15th century. This area was home to many different people as well as the leaders of the Yi dynasty. To gain further insight into the life styles of the inhabitants of the old capital, soil samples were collected from various areas such as toilets, water foundations, and drainage ways. Parasite eggs were examined by microscopy after 5 g soil samples were rehydrated in 0.5% trisodium phosphate solution. A total of 662 parasite eggs from 7 species were found. Species with the highest number of eggs found were Ascaris lumbricoides (n=483), followed by Trichuris trichiura (138), Trichuris vulpis (21), Fasciola hepatica (8), Clonorchis sinensis (6), Paragonimus westermani (4), and Metagonimus yokogawai (2). These findings indirectly indicate the food habits of the people in Yi dynasty.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7683-7688
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• 2015

Background: The study evaluated the patient, lifestyle and tumor profile in patients undergoing upfront surgery for sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) in Indian population. Materials and Methods: One hundred consecutive patients were included. Details related to their demographic profile, habits, signs and symptoms, tumor profile, further treatment and follow up were recorded. Results: The majority of the patients had colonic cancer (68%), advanced tumor stage 3 & 4 (46%), moderately differentiated tumors (70%) with absence of lymphatic invasion (60%) and metastasis (90%). Correlations between tumor location and abdominal pain (p-value 0.002), bleeding per rectum (p-value <0.001), difficulty in micturition (p-value 0.012) and constipation (p-value 0.007) were found to be statistically significant. Abdominal pain was more frequently reported in patients with metastasis (p-value 0.031). Loss of weight statistically correlated with absence of lymphatic invasion (p-value 0.047). Associations between tumor stage and alcohol intake (p-value 0.050) and non vegetarian diet (p-value 0.006); lymphatic invasion and intake of spicy food (p-value 0.040) and non vegetarian diet (p-value 0.001) and metastasis and alcohol intake (p-value 0.041) were also observed. Age and tumor grade were also correlated (p-value 0.020). Conclusions: Minimizing the adverse lifestyle factors can help in reducing the overall incidence of CRC in the Indian population.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7507-7512
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• 2015

Background: In the low incoming country Bangladesh, breast cancer is second most common neoplasm and is increasing at an alarming rate among females. Lack of awareness and illiteracy are contributory factors for late presentation and therefore mortality. Purpose: To examine associations of different factors with breast cancer mortality and to raise awareness among the women of society in Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: This descriptive case-control study was conducted on 160 participants from April 2011 till July 2014. Through a valid questionnaire covering personal and family history, data were collected by face to face interview. For analyzing correlations among factors with breast cancer data, binary logistic regression, Pearson's ${\chi}^2$-value, odd ratios and p-value tests were conducted with SPSS version 20. Results: The mean age of the patients was 43.0 ($SD={\pm}11.12$). In ascending order the leading significant factors were hormone therapy (p<0.0000, OR=4.897), abortion (p<0.0001, OR=3.452), early start menarche (p<0.0002, OR=3.500), family history (p<0.0022, OR=3.235), and late menopause (p<0.0093, OR=3.674) with both ${\chi}^2$ test and logistic regression analyses. Non-significant factors were cancer experience, fatty food habits, marital status and taking alcohol. Conclusions: Regarding the investigation of this study, significant and insignificant factor's correlation visualization with breast cancer will be helpful to increase awareness among Bangladeshi women as well as all over the world.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.1-13
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to examine how the basic directions proposed in the Dietary Education Support Act were reflected in the dietary section of home economics textbooks for middle schools. The eleven different kinds of the 2007 revised textbooks were considered in the study. It was found that all of the textbooks considered reflected well in general the basic directions in the Dietary Support Act - formation of healthy dietary habits, promotion of dietary activities, practice of green dietary, preservation of traditional dietary, utilization of local food products, etc. in terms of their organization and description. However, it was also revealed that there were great differences among them in their treatment of visual materials like figures, photos, graphs, etc., news articles, and interesting anecdotal stories.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.5741-5747
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• 2015

Purpose: To understand the epidemiology of different upper gastrointestinal (UGI) tract related abnormalities through endoscopic data analysis. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of three years from January 2009 to December 2011 was conducted with data from endoscopic surveillance of upper GI tract problems, collected from the Gastroenterology Unit, Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad. MS excel and Medcalc software (comparison of proportions) were used for data analysis. Results: A total of 10,029 (6,468 in males and 3,561 in females) endoscopies were performed during this three-year period. The male to female ratio was 1.8:1. Overall, ~30% of endoscopies evaluated showed patients with acid peptic disorders, 13.6% with vascular-related abnormalities, 10.6% showed structural abnormalities, followed by 6.3% with malignancies. Burden of malignancies was mostly observed in the older age group (60-69 years). Esophageal cancer cases decreased (p=0.0001) whereas stomach cancers increased over this period (p=0.0345). We also observed an increased incidence of acid peptic disease (APD) (p=0.0036) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) (p=0.0002) cases during this period. Conclusions: Endoscopic diagnosis is useful for early detection of UGI anomalies and helpful for physicians to manage and treat varied kinds of UGI disorders. Analysis of data revealed changing trends in the incidence of various pathologies of the UGI tract. Functional dyspepsia and GERD definitely reduce the quality of life of the individual. The role of our diverse dietary habits and lifestyle associated with these problems have not yet been established, though there have been reports on the effect of coffee, spicy food, wheat-based diet, screening of UGI pathologies along with collection of complete personal and medical history details, can h elp in correlating the patients' condition with various aspects of lifestyle and diet.