• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.341-355
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• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The consumption of dietary supplements has shown an increase among young people in their 20s. We aimed to compare the use of dietary supplements and related factors between Chinese international and Korean college students living in South Korea. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We conducted online surveys of 400 Chinese international students and 452 Korean college students from January to February 2021. We analyzed the factors related to the use of dietary supplements by these students using multi-group structural equation modeling and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Approximately 65% of the Chinese international students and 93% of the Korean college students consumed dietary supplements at least once in the year preceding the survey. The common types of dietary supplements consumed by both groups of students were vitamin and mineral supplements, Lactobacillus products, and red ginseng products. Structural equation modeling showed that perception of the consumption of dietary supplements by family and friends positively influenced attitude toward dietary supplements. This effect was higher for Korean college students than for Chinese international students (P < 0.01). Attitude toward dietary supplements positively influenced their use, and this effect was higher for Chinese international students than for Korean college students (P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that the use of dietary supplements by Chinese international students was significantly associated with age, self-reported health status, interest in health, perception of and attitude toward dietary supplements, and length of residence in South Korea. Among Korean college students, it was associated with exercise frequency and attitude toward dietary supplements. CONCLUSION: This study showed significant differences in the use of dietary supplements and related factors between Chinese international and Korean college students. Therefore, nutrition education programs on dietary supplements need to have differentiated content for each group. Such differences also suggest that the industry should consider the relevant characteristics of college students while developing and marketing dietary supplements.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.55-62
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• 2001

Consumers'frequent use of micronutrient supplements has caused concerns o possible overdoses and prompted the view that the appropriate provision of nutrition information on such supplements is needed. In this study the nutrition information on vitamin-mineral supplements in Korea was evaluated based on the labels on the supplements. Consumers'use, reliance on and demand for nutrition information were examined by self-administered questionnaire. Subjects were 1,203 middle-aged housewives. Under examination were 141 multinutrient products (86.6%) and single nutrient products (13.4%). Various names and units were used for the same nutrient and the labels were not informative to consumers. The mode of nutrients contents in the supplements were several fold of RDA though not in the range of toxicity. %RDA value was seldom shown on the label. Currently these supplements are classified as general drugs in Korea so they are not subject to regulations on nutrition labeling. Half of the subjects read the nutrient content list but two-thirds of them did not understand the information. Numerous health claims related to diseases were listed on the label and more than half of the subjects read them and one-third believed those health claims. These results indicate the need for an appropriate format for nutrition information on vitamin-mineral supplements.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.99-113
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• 2022

This study compared the pattern of purchasing nutritional supplements and obtaining nutrition information and the Nutrition Quotient of adults who exercise regularly according to the frequency of muscle training (LM, muscle training less than two days/week; MM, 2~3 days/week; HM, more than three days/week). Compared to the other groups, significantly more men in the HM group answered that they had purchased supplements and would repurchase them. They presented "increasing muscle mass" as the purpose of buying them and "types and contents" as the major factor to consider before buying. The supplements that significantly more subjects in the HM group purchased than in the other groups were protein supplements, BCAA (Branched-chain amino acid), arginine, and caffeine supplements for men and protein supplements, BCAA and carnitine for women. Compared to the other groups, significantly more men and women in the HM group reported "trainer" as the major source of nutrition information, and significantly more men in the HM group reported "increasing muscle mass" as the 1st topic of nutrition education that they wanted to receive and were satisfied with the information that they obtained. Most of all, males and females in the HM group had significantly a higher Nutrition Quotient than in the other groups. The differences between males and females in variables regarding exercise, the patterns of using supplements and acquiring nutrition information, and Nutrition Quotient were also found. These results can provide basic data for developing educational materials emphasizing the wise consumption of nutrition information, including supplement intake.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.347-355
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• 2017

Objectives: Although dietary supplements use in Korea has been rapidly increasing and women are more likely to take dietary supplements more than men, only a few studies have been conducted to investigate factors contributing to gender differences in dietary supplement use in the Korean population. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of dietary supplement use and also identify gender-specific key factors that contribute to it using the data of the 4th KNHANES. Methods: Subjects were divided into user and non-user groups according to the answer given to the question that asked whether they had used any dietary supplement for more than 2 weeks on a regular basis during the previous year. Factors related to dietary supplement use were examined by general characteristics, health behavior and eating behavior. Results: Prevalence of dietary supplement use was 13.6% for men and 20.6% for women. Users were more likely to be middle-aged, have higher income and education, have a spouse, or reside in dong areas in both men and women. Regarding health behaviors, men with desirable lifestyle behavior were more likely to take dietary supplements, while men who smoked were less likely to take dietary supplements. Regarding disease history, both men and women with a current disease had higher odds of taking supplements. With regard to dietary behavior, frequent eating out and nutrition attitude were associated with higher odds of taking supplements in both men and in women. Conclusions: Health or dietary behavior related factors that were associated with taking supplements differed by gender. These findings can be useful for planning gender-specific dietary education and health programs.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.205-213
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• 2001

A survey was conducted to investigate the intake pattern of health supplements and health foods by using questionnaire. The data were collected from 395 adults over middle age and analyzed with SAS program. The natural foods were most frequently taken among health supplements and health foods for health. There was no difference in pattern of health supplements or health foods intake between male and female. The item taken over 20% of subjects was health drinks, green tea, ginseng product, dietary fiber drink, honey, general tea, tonic medicine from natural foods, vitamin B, vitamin C from nutrition supplements, and Lactobacillus product from health supplements. As the main reason for taking health supplements or health foods, the male indicated recovery of fatigue and improvement of health, but the female indicated recovery of fatigue and protection or treatment on disease(p<0.001). The frequency of taking health supplements or health foods was once a day. About the effect of health foods 70.1%, of subjects answered not bad and 25% responded very helpful for their health. Twenty percent of subjects experienced side effects such as diarrhea. The results showed that the proper education program should be developed for consumer to choose suitable health supplements or health foods according to their dietary life and health condition.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.78-84
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• 2018

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Folic acid supplementation before pregnancy is known to reduce the risk of neural tube defects. The purposes of this study were to investigate the awareness, knowledge, and use of folic acid supplements along with their associated factors among non-pregnant Korean women of childbearing age. SUBJECTS/METHODS: From August 2012 to March 2013, 704 women aged 19-45 years completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding their awareness, knowledge, and use of folic acid as well as questions to identify risk of inadequate folate intake. RESULTS: Approximately 67% of women reported that they had heard of folic acid, and 23.7% had knowledge of both the role of folic acid in preventing birth defects and appropriate time for taking folic acid supplements to prevent birth defects. However, only 9.4% of women took folic acid supplements at the time of the survey. Women aged 19-24 years, unmarried women, and women who had never been pregnant were less likely to be aware and knowledgeable of folic acid or take folic acid supplements. In addition, women at high risk of inadequate folate intake were less likely to take folic acid supplements. In a multivariate analysis, women aged 19-24 years, women with a high school diploma or lower education level, and unmarried women were less likely to be aware and have knowledge of folic acid. The percentage of women taking folic acid supplements was significantly higher among knowledgeable women than among unknowledgeable women. CONCLUSIONS: These results support our hypothesis that women with knowledge of folic acid are more likely to take folic acid supplements. Therefore, educational programs or campaigns to improve knowledge regarding the importance of folic acid and to promote consumption of folic acid supplements as well as folate-rich foods are needed to target young, less educated, and unmarried women.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.139-146
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• 1997

Use of the viamin-mineral supplements markedly increased with the awareness of diet and health. Data were collected from the self-administered questionnaire of 450 free living elderly, 60 to 94 years old, in Korea, to assess the relationships between socioeconomic variables, beliefs about nutrition, and the factors affecting gupplements usage. In addition, vitamin-mineral intakes through the supplements were calculated, and compared with RDA. 44.9% of the subjects took the vitamin-mineral supplements, and significantly higher percentage of women(49.3%) than men(38.1%) took supplements(p<0.05). The higher the education level, monthly pocket money, the percentage of supplements consumption was higher. People living in large cities took more supplements than those in small cities. One of the mainly cited reasons for taking supplements was to maintain health. The most favored nutrient supplements used by the subjects were in the order of vitamin B complex, vitamin E and Calcium, and vitamin-mineral intake through the supplements were much greater than RDA and ranges of their intakes were very wide. Vitamin B1 and vitamin E were observed to consume excessive amount(63 times of RDA and 40 times of RDA, respectively). The reasons for supplementation were often inappropriate and unreliable sources of information were used. Thus nutritional understanding and education of the elderly peopled are needed in regard to the use of vitamin-mineral supplements, and the relationship between adequate diet and good health.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.727-732
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• 1997

Dietary supplements are generally defined as concentrated sources of nutrients prescribed in addition to the daily diet to increase nutrient intake. These supplements are usually in the form of tablets, capsules, pills, powders, or liquids. Sales of dietary supplements are roughly $4 billion per year in the United States. Nearly 4 out of every 10 adults use dietary supplements regularly. This article is to report the pros and cons in the use of dietary supplements and a brief overview of current law, proposed regulations, and related activities in the United States. It provides what information should be known to the public before federal regulations governing health claims are made . These regulations may decide whether health food industries or pharmaceutical companies can make claims about the function of nutrients.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.264-274
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• 1992

The tendency o taking supplements as the means of promoting health status has been increasing. This research was performed to reveal the influence of nutritional knowledge and health-consciousness on taking-supplements and to reveal that of general characteristics and related factors. The data were obtained by self-administering questionnaire and study population was adults aged 18-81 years living in Soul(N=1300) The overall response rate was 70%(N=910) The results can be summarized as follows: 1) A substantial percentage(82.5%) of the subjects used some kinds of nutrient supplements Forth nine percent of respondents used both drug type supplements and food type supplements 2) The main reasons for taking supplements were ; to prevent illness and to treat illness' and ' to recover from fatigue and to give me energy' The main reason for not-taking was 'Because I am Healthy' 3) The factors influencing on taking supplements were sex marital status disease exercise recognition of knowledge and health-consciousness. When the confounders of health-conscious-ness recognition of knowledge and self-estimated score were controlled threr were significant correlations between health-consciousness and taking-supplements.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.946-955
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• 2001

This study was performed to investigate the dietary supplement use and related factors by college students attending in web class. One thousand four hundred college students(male: 632, female: 768) were participated in this study. The questionnaire about dietary supplements use, demographic characteristics, eating behavior, health-related lifestyles, nutrient intake was self-administered and the data were obtained via internet or mail. Dietary supplements were taken by 63.6%(male : 62.2%, female : 64.2%) of subjects. The higher concern about nutrition and health, the higher the incidence of dietary supplements taking was(p < 0.05). Dietary supplement users were satisfied more than non-users about meal served(p < 0.05). Supplements used by most male students were lactic acid beverage, Chinese medicine, geigogi geisoju and multivitamin, Chinese medicine, fiber-processed flood for female students. Most of dietary supplement users answered that the sources of information on supplements were 'friend, family or relatives' and 'TV or radio'. Dietary supplement users were taking significantly more nutrients compared to non-use. Therefore, it may be necessary to provide nutrition information and education which show that balanced diet is the best nutritional strategy for health promotion and diet supplements can be helpful in deficient state nutrients.