• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.371-381
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• 2020

This study was conducted to evaluate the overall dietary habits and nutritional status of 294 elementary school students located in Gwangju using the NUTRILITE nutrition quotient (NQ). The NQ score of the subjects was 59.5 out of 100, which corresponds to the level requiring "monitoring". Compared to the 64.4 score of students in the 5^th and 6^th grades of six metropolitan cities, the scores of the present subjects were lower. The NQ components were 57.4 for balance factors, 52.4 for moderation factors, 55.0 for diversification factors, 57.6 for practice factors, and 80.1 for environmental factors. Regarding the characteristics according to the NQ level, the score (61.5 in 7 times/wk vs. 55.3 in 1-2 or none times/wk) tended to be higher in subjects who frequently eat with their families (p<0.001). In conclusion, nutrition education should be provided to students to increase the frequency of meals with their families, to develop a habit of exercising regularly, and reduce the consumption of ramen, cookies, and processed drinks that are frequently consumed. These results can be used as basic data to develop nutrition education programs to improve the dietary habits and nutritional status of students in Gwangju.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.53-63
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• 2024

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the nutrition quotient and the dietary intake of adolescents. A total of 393 adolescents were surveyed to evaluate their Nutrition Quotient for Korean Adolescents (NQ-A) scores and dietary intake. The average age of the survey subjects was 15 years and the average NQ-A score of the subjects was 49.11±13.35. There was no significant difference in the NQ-A scores according to gender and age. The average dietary diversity score was 3.77±0.85, and it was significantly higher in boys than in girls (p< .05) with the scores of 12-14-year-old students being significantly higher than those aged 15-18 years (p< .01). The results of comparing the percentage of recommended intake or adequate intake and the mean adequacy ratio (MAR) according to the NQ-A grade, showed that the 'High' grade had a significantly higher intake percentage of vitamin B1, B12, folate, phosphorus, iron and a significantly higher MAR (p< .05). From a long-term perspective, efforts to improve dietary habits are deemed necessary to meet an individual's nutritional requirements. Adolescents themselves should develop proper eating behaviors and acquire suitable dietary management skills to enhance their nutritional status, ultimately contributing to an improvement in their quality of life.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.628-645
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to evaluate the nutritional status and dietary habits of the elderly using the nutrition quotient for the elderly (NQ-E) and to analyze the differences in the NQ-E according to their levels of oral health. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The survey was administered to 123 elderly people receiving congregate meal services in Seoul. The questionnaire comprised 3 domains: oral health status, general characteristics, and the NQ-E for the elderly. RESULTS: The respondents were divided into 2 groups based on the average score of their levels of oral health (the group with high oral health scores: 4.42 points and the group with low oral health scores: 2.89 points). As a result of evaluating nutritional status using the NQ-E, it was found that the average NQ-E score was 58.7 points, with 46.0 points in the balance domain, 47.0 points in the diversity domain, 72.9 points in the moderation domain, and 61.8 points in the dietary behavior domain. The NQ-E score (62.3 points) of the group with high oral health scores is significantly higher than the NQ-E score (54.7 points) of the group with low oral health scores (P < 0.001). Concerning the NQ domain scores, the elderly with good oral health status had "favorable" results in terms of balance and dietary behavior, and the elderly with poor oral health status had "favorable" results only in terms of balance. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, several dietary areas needed improvement in general. Those with poor oral health conditions urgently needed to improve related factors to minimize the risk of increasing imbalanced nutrition and comorbidities due to insufficient nutrition and undesirable eating habits.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.399-408
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• 2024

Food literacy (FL) refers to the ability to understand and utilize food information. This concept consists of functional (FFL), interactive (IFL), and critical food literacy (CFL). In today's massive information-driven society, FL needs must be paid attention to as a determinant of health along with health literacy. This study sought to identify the FL of Korean adults, and to analyze the association between FL and nutritional status. Data was collected through an online self-reported survey among 1,355 Korean adults aged 19 to 64 years, stratified by gender and age. An χ² -test, student's t-test, ANOVA, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and multinomial logistic regression were performed using IBM SPSS 25.0. There were significant differences in the subjects' FFL, IFL, and CFL according to their gender, age, residence area, work type, and monthly income. Furthermore, it was confirmed that subjects with a higher nutrition quotient (NQ) grade also had higher FLs. Additionally, FFL and CFL contributed to improving the NQ grade. This study is meaningful in that it investigated the FL of Korean adults and provided data to identify populations that are particularly vulnerable to a lack of FL. In addition, it was confirmed that FL can have a positive effect on the nutritional status of adults. In conclusion, this study suggests the possibility of using FL as an intervention strategy to improve nutrition.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.113-123
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• 2021

This study aimed to examine the association between sleep duration, stress levels, and dietary behavior in adolescents. A survey was conducted on 453 students (227 male, 226 female) in high schools in the Chungbuk area. The participants were divided into groups based on daily sleep duration: group I (<5 hrs/d), group II (≥5 hrs/d and <6 hrs/d), group III (≥6 hrs/d and <7 hrs/d), and group IV (≥7 hrs/d). To measure the stress levels of participants, the survey had questions covering a variety of areas, including school life, family life, social relationships, and personal evaluation. To assess the dietary behaviors of participants, the survey included questions encompassing the Nutrition Quotient for Korean adolescents (NQ-A). Among female students, the sleep duration group IV had significantly lower total stress (P=0.022) and significantly lower stress in the personal evaluation area than the sleep duration group I (P=0.004). In the analysis of NQ-A, among female students, the sleep duration group IV showed significantly higher scores in balance (P=0.004), diversity (P=0.016), and total NQ-A score area (P=0.007) compared to other groups. There was a significant negative correlation between sleep duration and stress scores in total students (r=-0.24, P<0.001), while a significant positive correlation was seen between sleep duration and NQ-A scores in female students (r=0.16, P<0.05). To sum up, the longer the sleep duration, the lower the degree of stress, and the quality of meals which can be said to be a significant finding for high school students.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.209-221
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• 2023

This study aimed to provide fundamental data that could guide high school students' night eating behavior by investigating habits of their night eating consumption during COVID-19 pandemic (From 2021/5/13 to 5/20). Association between their eating habits and the Nutrition Quotient for Korean Adolescents (NQ-A) were also explored. This study included a total of 604 students, among whom 441 students were identified as night eating consumers. Among all subjects, 30.5% consumed night eating 3~4 times a week, 27.3% consumed 1-2 times a week, and 27.0% did not consume any night eating at all. The high-night eating group had a higher score of total NQ-A than the non-night eating group for both male (p<0.05) and female (p<0.001) students. This was because male students in the high-night eating group reported significantly higher rates of daily dinner consumption compared to non-night eating group. Furthermore, both male (p<0.05) and female (p<0.001) students showed a significant increase in 'Moderation'. 'Diversity' was also significantly increased in female studies (p<0.05) as subcategories of dietary habits according to night eating frequency. These findings highlight the need for practical research to develop nutritional guidelines for night eating that reflect preferences of students while providing adequate nutritional habits.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.192-203
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• 2024

The digital environment has become an integral part of human lives today. This study aimed to investigate Mukbang watching status and its association with eating behaviors, eating habits, and the nutritional status of children. We conducted a survey of the actual status of Mukbang watching, and nutrition quotient of children (NQ-C) among 222 students in elementary schools in Daejeon. The prevalence of viewing Mukbang content was 68.9%, the most common frequency of viewing was 1~2 times per month (36.5%), and the duration of watching a single episode was less than 10 minutes (54.9%). Overall, 31.4% of students responded that they ate while watching a Mukbang and, 66.0% said they felt hungry after watching a Mukbang. YouTube (82.4%) was the most common source of viewing Mukbang. The most common reason for watching Mukbang was because all the students found the content entertaining. The NQ-C score of all the subjects surveyed was 58.95, which is a moderate grade. The scores of NQ-C, balance, and practice factors were significantly higher in boys than in girls. In addition, the scores of NQ-C, and balance and moderation were significantly higher in Mukbang non-viewers than viewers for all subjects and more specifically boys. These results suggest that watching Mukbang is associated with poor nutritional status in elementary school children. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the Mukbang watching status when providing nutrition guidance to instill healthy eating habits in children.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.156-164
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• 2021

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between eating speed and nutritional status among Korean high-school students using Nutrition Quotient for Korean Adolescents (NQ-A). In this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted in 453 high-school students (227 boys and 226 girls) from September 2019 to October 2019 in Chungbuk area. Based on the self-reported speed of eating data, subjects were classified into a fast group (n=180), a medium group (n=184), and a slow group (n=89). NQ-A scores for each group were measured in each speed group. In the environment section, girls showed a significant difference in usage time of electronic devices, such as TVs and smartphones: the fast group spent significantly more time than the medium group (p=0.035). In the practice section, among boys, the slow group had significantly higher scores for washing hands before eating than the medium and the fast groups (p=0.022). This study suggested that eating speed of high school students is associated with health-related environment factor and practice factor of NQ-A, such as time spent on smart devices or washing hands before eating. The study results can provide baseline data for nutrition education on health management of high school students.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.17-28
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• 2017

The objectives of this study were to assess food intake frequency and food behavior of infants and toddlers by using the Nutrition Quotient (NQ). A total of 368 subjects (infants 111, toddlers 257) in Ganghwa county were analyzed in this study. The NQ was examined using an NQ questionnaire, which consisted of 19 food behavior checklist items. The items were grouped into five categories: balance, diversity, moderation, regularity, and practice. All data were statistically analyzed by SPSS 20, and significant difference was evaluated by Student's t-test and $x^2-test$. The BMIs of infants and toddlers were $16.54kg/m^2$ and $16.01kg/m^2$, respectively. The frequencies of consumption of vegetables and fruits were higher (p<0.001) in girls and toddlers compared to boys and infants, respectively. Food behavior of meal regularity (p<0.001), breakfast eating (p<0.001), and chewing well (p<0.001) were also higher in toddlers compared to infants. Total NQ score of infants and toddlers were 62.05 and 64.91, respectively, which were within medium grade. The NQ score of toddlers was higher than that of infants (p<0.0.5). NQ score was positively correlated with parent's education, monthly income, age, and exercise. Therefore, children and their parents need proper nutrition education and counseling to correct their eating habits and improve their nutritional status.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.480-494
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• 2023

Objectives: This study sought to assess the effectiveness of community-based nutrition counseling on improving nutritional status, managing complex chronic diseases, and enhancing the quality of life for elderly individuals with chronic conditions, particularly in older adults with high levels of food insecurity and multiple chronic illnesses. Methods: Thirty elderly subjects with diabetes and hypertension who were registered at local Senior Welfare Center received individualized nutrition counseling, based on their Nutrition Quotient for the Elderly (NQ-E) index. Over a 16-week period, they received tailored counseling and underwent various health and nutritional assessments. The final analysis included 28 participants after two dropped out. Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS v28.0. Results: The subjects were over 70, with multiple chronic diseases including diabetes and hypertension and predominantly female. After 16 weeks, significant improvements were observed in the subjects' grip strength, and HbA1c levels, as well as in their NQ-E scores, indicating improved dietary balance and diversity. There were no significant improvements in the 'Moderation' subdomain of the NQ-E index, suggesting that this aspect requires further attention in nutritional counseling. The subjects' nutritional risk scores (NSI) were also significantly decreased, indicating less nutritional risk. Lastly, as measured by the SF-36K, the subjects' quality of life showed significant improvement in several domains including physical role performance and social function. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that tailored nutrition counseling, based on the NQ-E index, can improve elderly health, manage chronic diseases, and enhance quality of life. This approach potentially broadens the scope of community nutritionists' roles within an aging society. However, additional research is necessary to evaluate these interventions' long-term effects and sustainability.