• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.47-59
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• 2015

In this study, we investigated the dietary habits, snacks, and self-purchasing snacks (SPS) intake behaviors of 519 elementary school students (boys=239, girls=280). Obesity was significantly higher (p<0.05) in boys (24.8%) than in girls (14.7%) and the proportion of underweight subjects was higher compared to normal or other weight groups for both the boys and the girls. There were 7.5% of the subjects in the group that always skipped breakfast, and the main reason of skipping breakfast was insufficient time (51.9%). The snack intake frequency was once or twice per week for 23.1% of the subjects and three or four times per week for 25.1%. The SPS intake frequency was the subjects zero for 35.6% of the highest level of the responders, while 6.8% of the respondents took more than once SPS per day. 59.6% of the respondents consumed SPS due to hunger while 15.0% consumed SPS out of boredom. The SPS was purchased from supermarkets in 34.5% of the cases, from convenience stores in 24.1% and from snack corners in 20.0% of cases or from a store near school in 14.5% of the cases. Analysis of SPS behaviors according to obesity index showed that parent's opinion of 'permission to buy SPS as needed' had a significant effect in 64.5% over weight subjects compared to only 53.7% in underweight groups. The subjects who used more than 3/4 of their pocket money to buy SPS was higher in the overweight groups (16.4%) than in the underweight groups (7.0%) and normal weight groups (9.8%). The favorite snacks and SPS were milk and yogurt for 45.7% of the subjects, fruits for 42.7%, ice cream for 26.4%, fruit juices for 23.8%, sweet stuff for 16.4%, frozen dessert for 8.9%, and chocolate or candy for 8.1% in descending order. The intake frequency of milk, yogurt, and fruit juices was higher in the underweight groups, but the intake frequency of sweet stuff, frozen dessert, and chocolate or candy was higher in over weight groups. The intake of frozen dessert was more than four times higher in the overweight groups than in the underweight groups. In conclusion, dietary habits, snacks, and SPS intake behaviors were similar between the boys and the girls and obesity groups, but most students appeared to have a high preference for intake snacks and SPS. Therefore, education for appropriate snacks intake habits will be beneficial for improving their dietary habits and health.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.513-524
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• 2010

This study was designed to examine nutrition label use, self-efficacy, snacking and eating behaviors of middle school students, and to investigate if these characteristics were different by nutrition label use. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to 348 middle school students in Kyunggi, Korea. About a third of subjects read nutrition labels when they purchased snacks/packaged foods. Most nutrition label users were interested in reading information on calories, fat and trans-fat. Self-efficacy of eating/selecting snacks or general nutrition behavior was moderate (mean score: 44.4 out of 60), with significantly higher score in nutrition label users compared to nonusers (p < 0.001). Nutrition label users felt more confident in 9 items out of 15 items of self-efficacy, such as "taking fruits instead of cookies/candy for snack" (p < 0.001), "choosing milk instead of soft drink" (p < 0.01), "not having snacks after dinner" and "avoiding processed foods for snacks" (p < 0.05). Subjects had snacks 1.3 times a day, and nutrition label nonusers consumed snacks more frequently than the counterparts (p < 0.01). About 55% of nutrition label users and 64.7% of nonusers mainly purchased snacks for themselves (p < 0.05). Commonly purchased snacks by adolescents were ice cream, cookies/chips, breads and ramen. Major considerations in purchasing snacks were taste (46.9%) and price (34.6%). In selecting snacks, the influence of friends and parents was greater than the other sources. Based on eating frequency of snacks, nutrition label users were more likely to consume healthy snacks, such as fruit juices, vegetables, milk, yogurt, and potato/sweet potato than nonusers (p < 0.05). Eating behaviors measured by 15 items scored 33.6 out of 45. Nutrition label users showed better eating behaviors, such as "eating meals slowly", "eating foods cooked with plant oil", and "eating out less frequently" (p < 0.05). Study results showed that majority of adolescents did not read nutrition labels, selected snacks for themselves and had somewhat unhealthy foods for snacks. This study also showed the differences in self-efficacy, snacking and eating behaviors between nutrition label users and nonusers. In nutrition education, it is necessary to stress the importance and skills for reading nutrition labels. It is also needed to help adolescents to select healthy snacks and have desirable eating behaviors, as well as increasing self-efficacy.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.650-661
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• 2009

In this study, 230 female college students in Seoul area were surveyed to evaluate their eating habits and behavior, physical activities, and patterns of purchasing diet/low-calorie food. Their body composition was also determined using bioelectrical impedance(Inbody 520). The subjects were divided into two groups according to their BMI index with a mean BMI of 20.2$\pm$1.5(normal) weight and 25.0$\pm$1.7(obesity). Overall, 85.7% of the subjects reported that the food they purchase depends more on their preferences than the nutritional value of the food. When the two groups were compared there was no significant difference in the frequency or experience of purchasing diet-foods. Indeed, 69.3% of all female college students had purchased diet foods, and most consumed these foods 2~3 times a week. Obese group preferred a savory taste, while normal group preferred a sweet taste. The majority of the subjects(80.8%) answered that they "read nutritional labels carefully upon purchasing diet food", and that they examined calories(61.8%) and total fat(48.5%) most carefully. Of the types of low-calorie/diet foods purchased, beverages were the most commonly obtained; followed by noodles, diet-bars, and snacks. The most commonly purchased low calorie snacks were "potato-type C(hot-flavor)" and "potato-type A(salty-flavor)", while the most commonly purchased diet-bars were "low calorie-type A"(55.3%) and "high protein-bar"(32.3%). The most commonly purchased noodles were "thick noodle type"(65.1%), while the most commonly purchased drinks were "cereal tea"(65.1%) and "mixed herb tea"(66.0%). Overall, factors such as self-esteem or the degree of body satisfaction, rather than obesity(BMI index) itself, were significantly correlated with the frequency of purchasing diet-foods.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.342-360
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• 2014

Objectives: This study aimed to develop nutrition education program for consumers to reduce sodium intake based on social cognitive theory (SCT). Methods: The main factors of SCT related to low sodium diet were investigated by using focus group interview (FGI) with 30 women who participated in consumer organizations. Results: The main target groups for the education program were housewives (H), parents (P), and the office workers (OW), for which we considered their influences on other people and the surroundings. According to the results of FGI, in carrying out low sodium diet, 'positive outcome expectation' were prevention of chronic disease and healthy dietary habit, and 'negative outcome expectation' were low palatability of foods, difficulty in cooking meals, and limited choice of foods. The contents of the program and education materials were individualized by each group to raise self-efficacy and behavioral capability, which reflected the results of the FGI. The program included 'salt intake and health' to raise positive outcome expectation. For improving the ability to practice low-sodium diet, the program contained the contents that focused on 'cooking' and 'food purchasing' for H, on 'purchasing and selection of low-sodium food with the children' for P, and on 'way of selecting restaurant menu' for OW. Also the program included 'way of choosing the low-sodium foods when eating out' with suggestions on sodium content of the dishes and snacks. Further, 'dietary guidelines to reduce sodium intake' was also suggested to help self-regulation. Conclusions: This nutrition education program and education materials could be utilized for the community education and provide the basis for further consumer targeted education program for reducing sodium intake.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.131-143
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• 2005

This study is performed to examine the meal management attitudes of housewives who had elementary schoolchildren in the remote rural areas(RA: n = 318, $37.2{\pm}0.3$ years of age) in comparison to those in their vicinity urban area(UA: n = 349, $36.9{\pm}0.2$ years of age) in the Chungnam province in Korea. The subjects were asked to fill out the questionnaire on their attitudes of meal management for their families. The results obtained in this study were as followings: (1) Most husbands of the subjects had a farming job in the RA while they had salaried workers in the UA(p<0.001). Education levels of both subjects and their husbands were lower in the RA than in the UA. Nuclear families were dominated by both groups, however single parent-family and step parent-family were more prevalent in the RA than in the UA. (2) in terms of ways of getting foods such as grains, meats, eggs, vegetables and fruits, the RA housewives relied more often on self-production than did the UA housewives(p<0.001). (3) The frequency of purchasing unprocessed foods was lower in the RA than in the UA(p<0.001). The RA housewives purchased the convenient foods such as instant noodles(p<0.05), ready to eatsoups(p<0.001), retort pouch foods(p<0.05) and instant teas(p<0.05) more frequently than did the UA housewives, while tuna, canned in oil(p<0.01), milk and their products(p<0.001), soybean products(p<0.001) and snacks(p<0.01) were purchased less often by the RA housewives. (4) Family members except housewives engaged more often in meal preparation in the RA than did those in the UA(p<0.001), which was more strongly observed for dinner. The time spent in preparing the dinner was shorter in the RA than in the UA(p<0.001). (5) The degrees of endeavor to provide the subjects' offspring with balanced meal(p<0.001) and nutrition education(p<0.01) were lower in the RA than in the UA. The RA housewives had more difficulty for performing meal management because of 'over work-related fatigue', 'insufficient money to purchase foods' and 'far distance from grocery' than the UA housewives(p<0.001). The RA housewives had lower score on nutritional knowledge(p<0.001) and wanted more strongly nutritional knowledge to improve the quality of family's meal than did the UA housewives(p<0.01). Therefore, the RA housewives had various problems regarding meal management such as 'over work related to fatigue', 'food-purchasing inconvenience', 'low economic status of family' and 'lack of nutritional knowledge'. As a consequence the RA housewives relied on cheap convenient foods more often in order to prepare the meal easily than did the UA housewives. These findings emphasize the need in the RA for nutrition education for housewives and a range of nutrition policies that focus upon the social and economic determinants of food choice within families to improve the nutritional status of the RA residents.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.74-83
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• 2009

We investigated the food service management practices in child care centers operated by various types of foundations in the Chonbuk area of Korea. Self-administered questionnaires were collected from 125 child care center directors. The statistical analysis was completed using an SPSS v11.5 program. Approximately 82.4% of the directors were women with an the average age of 45 years old. The average number of children in each public and private child care center was 84.7 and 88.8, respectively (P<.001), and the difference in time of operation was significant(P<.001). Only 20.8% of the centers employed a dietitian, whereas 92.0% of the centers employed a cook, thus, food service was not managed by professionals in most centers. In approximately 99.2% of the centers, meals were prepared in a conventional manner. The difference in daily meal frequency was significant(P<.05), with approximately 85.6% of the centers serving snacks twice a day primarily to supplement the intake of nutrients(4.44 point) and to add fun to the daily lives of the children(4.12 point). Approximately 40.7% of the directors of public centers and 57.6% of the directors of private centers responded that the most difficult aspect of food service management was financial management. Overall, 56.8% of the directors responded that the details of financial management had the greatest effect on their ability to improve the quality of food service. In most centers, the center director was also the purchasing manager and half of them purchased food every day. Approximately 97% of the directors responded that they do not include instant foods in their menu plans but they would use them if the children wanted to eat them. These results indicate that the food service management in child care centers in the Chonbuk area is relatively inadequate. We strongly recommend that they hire dietitians for food service administration and focus on strengthening sanitation management.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.577-586
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• 2011

This study was carried out to investigate food service management practices in various operation types of child care center in Gyeonggi area of Korea, and to provide basic information for improving food service management policies at child care centers. Self-administrated questionnaires were collected from 102 child care center directors. The statistical analysis was completed using SPSS ver. 18.0 program. Approximately 97.1% of the directors were women. The number of total children were difference in public, private and home care centers respectively (p<0.001), and time of operation was significantly (p<0.01). Only 8.9% of the centers employed a dietitian, whereas 92.5% of the centers employed cook or assistant cook, thus food service was not managed by professionals in most centers. All of the centers had been self-operated and meals were prepared in a conventional manner. In approximately 89.2% of the centers servings snacks twice a day. Menu planner of the centers which have no dietitian was the child care information center (47.5%) or the director (34.7%). In most centers, the directors was also purchasing manager and 36.0% of the center purchased food every day. These results indicated that food service management guidelines need to be established by the child care center type with the government control and financial support. We recommended that they furnish the efficient food service program for food service management.