• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2016

Purpose: It is important to alleviate care burden for terminal cancer patients and their families. This study investigated the factors associated with care burden among family caregivers (FCs) of terminally ill cancer patients. Methods: We analyzed data from 289 FCs of terminal cancer patients who were admitted to palliative care units of seven medical centers in Korea. Care burden was assessed using the Korean version of Caregiver Reaction Assessment (CRA) scale which comprises five domains. A multivariate logistic regression model with stepwise variable selection was used to identify factors associated with care burden. Results: Diverse associating factors were identified in each CRA domain. Emotional factors had broad influence on care burden. FCs with emotional distress were more likely to experience changes to their daily routine (adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 2.54; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.29~5.02), lack of family support (aOR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.04~4.97) and health issues (aOR, 5.44; 2.50~11.88). Family functionality clearly reflected a lack of support, and severe family dysfunction was linked to financial issues as well. FCs without religion or comorbid conditions felt more burdened. The caregiving duration and daily caregiving hours significantly predicted FCs' lifestyle changes and physical burden. FCs who were employed, had weak social support or could not visit frequently, had a low self-esteem. Conclusion: This study indicates that it is helpful to understand FCs' emotional status and family functions to assess their care burden. Thus, efforts are needed to lessen their financial burden through social support systems.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.559-566
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• 2009

Effective nutrition educations for prevention of chronic diseases for the general population are of great importance these days. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of nutrition education for cardiovascular risk factor reduction by e-mail education in male workers. The participants were divided into three groups by age; 28-39 age group, 40-49 age group, and 50-59 age group who got regular checkups for anthropometry and biochemistry. The 1 year program consisted of 15 topics containing information about metabolic syndrome (MS) and healthy eating behavior (intake of salt, fat and alcohol). Seven hundred thirty nine participants volunteered for the study [28-39 age group, n = 240; body mass index (BMI) = 24.9 $\pm$ 2.7 kg/m$^2$: 40' group, n = 276; BMI = 24.8 $\pm$ 2.6 kg/m$^2$: 50' group, n = 223; BMI = 24.9 $\pm$ 2.7 kg/m$^2$]. Percentage body fat (p < 0.05) and percentage of abdominal fat (p < 0.05), total cholesterol (p < 0.05), systolic blood pressure (p < 0.05), and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.05) were significantly decreased in all participants after the 1 year program. The total number of participants who had MS was decreased from 216 to 199 and especially the incidence of MS was decreased 27% in the group of subjects who were under the age 39. The e-mail worksite nutrition education program shows a substantial contribution to the development of effective CVD and chronic disease control and lifestyle nutrition educations that are applicable to and attractive for the large population at risk.

• CRM연구
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.1-19
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• 2009

In an attempt to explore the consumption behaviors of customers regarding ethnic food restaurants the present study examined the effects of consumer characteristics, accessibility of ethnic food restaurants, product characteristics, and social factors on the customer behavior towards ethnic food restaurants, and further investigated the causal relationship between the customer behavior and his or her intent to reuse. A questionnaire survey was conducted approximately for a month with domestic consumers who had tried foreign cuisines. A total of 230 questionnaires were distributed and 215 questionnaires were collected, of which 210 were used in the final analysis excluding five due to inadequate responses. The finding of the study were as follows. First, of the consumers' lifestyles category the gourmet oriented did not yield significant effect on subjective norm or other consumption behavior, whereas the trend oriented had noticeable influence on both factors. Second, while consumers' diversity-seeking characteristic did not affect subjective norm, it affected consumption behavior of ethic food restaurants. The results seem to indicate that the diversity-seeking characteristic is more to one's individual attributes, rather than being influenced by others. Third, ethnic food restaurant's consumption accessibilities strongly influenced the subjective norm, suggesting that in using the ethnic food restaurants, the more convenient the accessibility is, the higher the possibility of use from influenced reference group. However, when consumers previously had not been exposed to ethnic cuisines, convenient accessibility was not able to overcome the barriers of consumer reluctance, nor directly shape positive behaviors. Fourth, while national uniqueness of ethnic food did not affect subjective norm, the uniqueness did have positive impact on consumption behavior of foreign ethnic food restaurants. Fifth, consumer's subjective norm positively influenced both consumption behavior of ethnic food restaurants and their intent for future use. Lastly, consumption behavior toward foreign ethnic food restaurants positively influenced consumer's intent for future use, indicating that it would be most imperative and effective to first help reinforce positive attitude in oder to encourage a more use of ethnic food restaurants.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.667-682
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the changes in health behavior, mental health, and nutritional status of Korean adolescents before and after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak. Methods: A total of 800 adolescents (12~18 years old) who participated in the 2019-2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) were included as study subjects and divided into four groups (204 middle school boys, 172 middle school girls, 219 high school boys, and 205 high school girls). The 2019 and 2020 KNHANES data were classified into data collected before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, respectively. Results: After the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, middle school boys showed an increased tendency toward becoming overweight and obese, with significantly increased levels of diastolic blood pressure and insulin. While there was no major change in the subjective health status among adolescents, the high school boys showed a significantly decreased physical activity after COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, the proportion of middle school students feeling a little stressed significantly increased after the COVID-19 outbreak. The rate of skipping breakfast significantly increased in middle school girls, but the rate of having lunch with companions significantly increased among all adolescents after the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the intake of milk, vegetables, fruits, seaweeds, and pulses significantly decreased, although the intake of sugars, beverages, and seasonings significantly decreased as well, during this period. These changes may lead to an increased proportion of adolescents with insufficient intake of nutrients, including potassium, vitamin C, and riboflavin. Conclusion: These results highlight the impact of COVID-19 on comprehensive changes in physical and mental health status, lifestyle behavior, and nutritional status in adolescents, suggesting the need for targeted prevention and intervention for physical and mental well-being during the pandemic.

• Archives of design research
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• v.19 no.5 s.67
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• pp.129-138
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• 2006

It is expected that the typical lifestyle of the future will be transformed into an opulent and comfortable existence as the quality of life improves due to the increase in household income and reduction in working hours. In the meantime, as the standard of living becomes increasingly more comfortable and plentiful, the toll on physical health becomes magnified as a result of obesity and insufficient exercise caused by super nutrition and change in labor conditions (from physical labor to mental labor). This has instigated a deep awareness in fitness on the part of many people, forcing them to recognize the significance of daily exercise and physical activity. The high annual growth rate in the fitness and athletic apparatus market, which is more than 20%, is attributed to this phenomenon. The Elliptical Cross Trainer(ECT), which has drawn wide attention recently, is a non-impact athletic apparatus that not only promotes exercise of the upper body parts in such sports as skiing but also the exercise of lower parts of the body on a treadmill. It is a type of cross training athletic gear that has been developed for aerobic exercise throughout the entire body. It has already formed a market as big as that of the treadmill in Europe, America, etc. Recently, its demand is growing sharply in the Korean markets as well as those in Northeast Asian countries, Despite such demand increase and expansion, since most of the expensive ECTs are exclusively supplied by suppliers in only a few advanced countries, localization of the ECT is urgently required in order to enhance competitiveness of Korean manufacturers and to expand the market. This paper introduces the process and results of a design-engineering cooperative study that was peformed for the development of the ECT.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.73-79
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• 2022

Objectives : Suicide is a global social problem. Social burden caused by suicide is gradually increasing. Various efforts have been made to prevent suicide. Lifestyle changes to western style, especially diet changes, have increased the risk for suicide. Therefore, in this study, we discussed diet as an adjuvant treatment for suicide. Methods : In this review, we summarized the biochemical mechanism of suicide, and diet as a risk factor for suicide and diet as a protective factor through a web search. Results : In this study, biochemical mechanisms for suicide were reviewed and diet as a risk factor and diet as a protective factor for suicide were investigated. It was confirmed that neurotoxic effects such as oxidative stress and inflammation in the neural system could increase the risk of suicide. Based on results of previous studies on the relationship between suicide and diet, it was found that heavy use of alcohol, coffee, carbonated soft drink, and fast food were risk factors for suicide. Protective factors for suicide included antioxidants such as vitamin C, carotene, and anti-inflammatory agents such as omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood in large amounts. Conclusions : The only treatment for suicide is prevention. In this context, effectiveness, accessibility, and safety are important for preventing for suicide. Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents that are relatively safe and readily available to the public could be effective adjuvant treatments to decrease the risk of suicide. In addition, it is necessary to educate the public on reducing diets that could increase the risk of suicide

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.683-701
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to analyze the status of dietary behavior and nutrition intakes according to the gender and the level of physical activity of adolescents. Methods: Data from 659 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017-2018) were analyzed. Collected data were analyzed using complex sampling data analysis with SPSS v. 27.0. Results: The adolescents were categorized into three groups based on their physical activity as follows: The first group with high physical activity (8.9%), a second group with normal physical activity (29.7%), and a third group without physical activity (61.4%). Boys showed significantly higher physical activity than the girls. Adolescents with high physical activity had a significantly lower body mass index than adolescents without physical activity, but their meal regularity, subjective health status, and recognition of body image were significantly higher. In terms of biochemical factors, adolescents with high physical activity had lower triglycerides and cholesterol than adolescents without physical activity, while hemoglobin and hematocrit were significantly higher. In addition, the intakes of energy, carbohydrates, proteins, fat, vitamin B₁, niacin, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, iron increased significantly as adolescents' physical activity increased. Conclusion: The physical activity of adolescents had a positive effect on dietary behavior, lifestyle, and nutritional factors. Therefore, it is necessary to increase participation in physical classes in schools and develop various programs considering the level of physical activity among adolescents.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.9
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• pp.1187-1194
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• 2009

This study was performed to estimate the prevalence and the risk factors of arthritis in Andong rural area in 2003. The subjects were 1,462 people (544 males, 818 females) aged 45 years and over. The arthritis group was composed of 322 people (72 males, 250 females), diagnosed by doctor or self-diagnosed by the symptoms. Prevalence of arthritis was higher in female (27.2%) compared to male (13.2%). Mean age of arthritis group was significantly higher than that of normal group (male 66.2 vs 62.8, female 62.6 vs 60.1, p<0.001). The anthropometric measurements, such as % body fat, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference, and the biochemical measurements, such as plasma triglyceride and total cholesterol level, were significantly higher only in female (not in male) arthritis group than those in normal group. Health related lifestyle factors, such as smoking, alcohol drinking, and exercise, were not different between both groups. The risk factors for arthritis were analyzed using the multiple logistic regression method and expressed as odds ratio (OR). The results showed that female compared to male (OR=1.983), over 65 years compared to 45$\sim$64 years (male OR=2.769 and female OR=1.461), and obese female subjects (not for male) by % body fat ($\geq$32% OR=2.035) or BMI ($\geq$25 kg/$m^2$ OR=1.556) showed significantly higher risk factors for arthritis. Regarding nutrient intakes, higher intakes of fat (OR=1.443), calcium (OR=1.503), iron (OR=1.518) and vitamin A (OR=1.390) in female seemed to be risk factors. In contrast to female, higher intakes of vitamin A (OR=0.526) and riboflavin (OR=0.582) seemed to decrease the risk for arthritis in male. This study revealed that the prevalence of arthritis was significantly higher in female and aged individuals. Also, in order to decrease the prevalence and/or prevention of arthritis, female should prevent overfatness and decrease some nutrient intakes, while male should increase their intakes.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.295-306
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• 2018

Purpose: Koreans' internet and smartphone usage hours are steadily increasing and the dependence of young people on smartphones is causing social problems. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine health and dietary habits, as well as hair mineral contents according to the level of dependence of smartphone use among adolescents to clarify the interrelation of smartphone dependence, lifestyle, dietary behavior, and mineral nutrition status. Methods: A total of 80 smartphone-addicted adolescents participated in this study and were divided into three groups (general, potential and danger group) according to smartphone dependence. The subjects' lifestyles and dietary behaviors were then surveyed, and hair mineral contents were analyzed. Results: Higher smartphone dependence was associated with lower average weekly sleeping time and later first smoking age. In the danger group, the rate of eating fast and the rate of snacking twice a day was also relatively high. Parents (45.0%) and mobile (30.0%) were the factors having the greatest influence on an individual's dietary behavior. In the hair mineral analysis, all subjects had lower selenium concentrations and higher lead concentrations than normal. In addition, the levels of aluminum in the danger group were higher than in the normal range and the highest among the three groups. Conclusions: It is necessary to guide adolescents to use smartphones correctly and manage dietary habits. In addition, careful attention is needed the mineral nutritional status of smartphone-addicted adolescents.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.11
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• pp.1219-1224
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• 2005

Purpose : The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents has been rising rapidly in Korea because of changes of diet and lifestyle. As with adults, obesity in children and adolescents can cause diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular diseases and renal diseases. The aim of the present study is to examine the relation of obesity, glomerular filtration rate(GFR) and serum cystatin C concentration in children and adolescents. Methods : Data of 115 children and adolescents aged between 6 years and 20 years without clinical evidence of renal diseases were included in the study. From May 2004 to December 2004, blood samples were collected from children and adolescents who were seen at the Department of Pediatrics at Chungang University Yongsan Hospital. Obesity degrees and body mass indices(BMI) were measured, and GFRs were estimated from Schwartz's formula. Serum cystatin C was measured by particle enhanced nephelometric immunoassay using Behring Nephelometer II. Results : GFRs were significantly different between the obese group(BMI >95 percentile, $145.79{\pm}23.10mL/min$) and the non-obese group(BMI <95 percentile, $134.61{\pm}26.19mL/min$) divided by BMI (P=0.031). GFRs were not significantly different between the obese group(obesity degree >120 percent, $144.29{\pm}23.08mL/min$) and the non-obese group(obesity degree <120 percent, $134.54{\pm}26.57mL/min$) divided by obesity degree(P=0.051), but were significantly different between severe obese group (obesity degree >150 percent, $155.55{\pm}20.40mL/min$) and the non-obese group(P=0.004). GFRs were correlated positively with BMI($r^2=0.037$, P=0.039), but were not correlated significantly with obesity degree($r^2=0.030$, P=0.066). Serum cystatin C concentrations were not significantly different between the obese group and the non-obese group, divided by BMI as well as by obesity degree(P>0.05). Conclusion : Obesity may lead to an alteration of renal hemodynamics such as hyperfiltration, appropriate control and management for obesity is necessary.