• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.479-486
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Timing of almond intake during a day may result differently in the perspectives of body composition and changes of lipid profile. The current study was conducted to compare the effects of daily almond intake as a preload versus as a snack on body composition, blood lipid profile, and oxidative and inflammation indicators among young Korean adults aged 20-39 years old. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a pre-meal almond group (PM), a snack almond group (SN) in which participants were instructed to consume 56 g of almonds either as a preload before meals or as a snack between meals, respectively, and a control group (CL) in which participants were provided high-carbohydrate iso-caloric control food. Measurements were performed at baseline, weeks 8 and 16. RESULTS: A total of 169 (M 77 / F 92) out of the 227 participants completed the study between June 2014 and June 2015 (n = 58 for PM; 55 for SN; and 56 for CL). A significant decrease in body fat mass was observed in the PM group at both weeks 8 and 16 compared with the CL. There were significant intervention effects on changes of body fat mass (P = 0.025), body fat percentages (P = 0.019), and visceral fat levels (P < 0.001). Consuming almonds as a daily snack reduced the levels of total cholesterol (P = 0.043) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (P = 0.011) without changing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol compared with the CL. CONCLUSION: Almond consumption as a preload modified body fat percentages, whereas snacking on almonds between meals improved blood lipid profiles. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT03014531.

• Korean Journal of Exercise Nutrition
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2009

The effects of a hypocaloric diet with or without strength training on body fat distribution and serum lipid concentrations in obese elderly women were investigated. Twenty-six healthy women (age 66±4.6 yr; body mass index 32.3±2.9 kg/m²) were randomly assigned to 3 groups: control (C; n=8), hypocaloric diet (DO; n=9) or hypocaloric diet with strength training (DST; n=9). Subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and inter and intra muscular adipose tissue (IMAT) were measured using magnetic resonance imaging. Serum lipid concentrations including total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), and triglycerides (TG) were measured. No significant changes occurred in body weight and percent body fat in the C group over the 16-week period. The DO and DST groups lost similar amounts of weight and fat after 16 weeks. SAT and VAT decreased after weight loss in the DO and DST groups but not in the C group. IMAT was significantly reduced in the DO and DST groups, whereas in the C group IMAT increased. The loss in IMAT mass was similar in the DO and DST groups. TC and LDLC decreased in the DO and DST groups but not in the C group. There were no differences between the DO and DST groups in decrease in TC and LDLC. HDLC decreased in the DO group but not in the C and DST groups. TG tended to decrease in the DST group. In conclusion, body fat distribution including SAT, VAT, and IMAT and serum lipid concentratons were modulated by weight loss resulting from the hypocaloric diet with or without strength training in obese elderly women. Strength training did not enhance the improvement in body fat distribution and serum TC and LDLC concentrations by the hypocaloric diet.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.641-654
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• 2023

Purpose: Sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) contains abounding phytochemicals, such as polyphenols and anthocyanins, and has antioxidative effects. Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a crucial regulator in enhancing the lipid metabolism. This study hypothesized that the intake of sour cherry affects AMPK signaling. Therefore, this study examined whether sour cherry regulates AMPK to balance the hepatic lipid metabolism and exert ameliorating effects. Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice had obesity induced with a 45% fat diet. The mice were divided into four groups: control (CON), high-fat diet (HFD), low percentage sour cherry powder (LSC), and high percentage sour cherry powder (HSC). The mice in the sour cherry groups were fed 1% sour cherry or 5% sour cherry in their respective diets for 12 weeks. Results: The body weight, visceral fat weight, and lipid droplet size significantly decreased in the treatment groups. The serum and hepatic triglyceride and total cholesterol levels improved significantly in the HSC group. The low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were also reduced significantly, whereas the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were increased significantly in both treatment groups. The sterol regulator binding protein-1c and fatty acid synthase expression levels as fatty acid synthesis-related enzymes were significantly lower in the treatment groups than in the high-fat diet group. Furthermore, the adipose triglyceride lipase and hormone-sensitive lipase expression levels as lipolytic enzyme activity and AMPK/acetyl-CoA carboxylase/carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 as fatty acid β-oxidation-related pathway were upregulated significantly in both sour cherry groups. Conclusions: These results show that sour cherry intake improves hepatic lipid synthesis and chronic diseases by activating AMPK signaling. Therefore, this study suggests that phytochemical-rich sour cherry can be developed as a healthy functional food.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1889-1895
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• 2010

The purpose of this present study was to investigate the effects of long-term treadmill running and aged garlic extract supplementation on weight, adipose tissue mass, lipid profiles and oxidative stress after exhaustion in high fat diet-induced obese rats. Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats (3 weeks old) were used as subjects. High fat diets were fed to all subjects for 6 weeks in order to induce obesity. The subjects were divided into five groups - N (normal diet group), HD (high fat diet group), E (exercise group), EA (exercise with AGE diet group) and A (AGE diet group). Aerobic exercise was performed through treadmill running and AGE at a dosage of 2.86 kg/g was administered to rats 30 min before every exercise for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, all groups completed acute treadmill running (speed increasing gradually to 25 m/min, 15% uphill grade) until exhaustion. Immediately after exhaustive treadmill exercise, the weight, adipose tissue mass, lipid profiles and oxidative stress of the rats were assayed. At the end of 6 weeks of high fat diets, body weight and body weight gain were significantly higher in the high fat diet groups than in the normal diet group (p<0.001). At the end of treadmill exercise with AGE intake for 4 weeks, body weight gain, visceral and epididymal fat of the E and EA groups were significantly decreased compared to other groups (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in gastrocnemius and soleus. T-C, HDL-C, TG and LDL-C were not significant in any of the groups. TBARS was significantly lower in the A group than in the E group (p<0.05). These results indicated that body weight gain, visceral and epididymal fat decreased in the E and EA groups, and TBARS levels were lower in the A group than the E group. Regular aerobic exercise intervention with AGE supplementation may also modify the adipose weight and improve the oxidant stress in obese rats.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.91-101
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of obesity on the expression of autophagy-related proteins in cardiac muscle. To this end, obesity was induced in rats through 20 weeks of high-fat diet, and the animals were then subjected to 8 weeks of treadmill exercise. Subsequently, the expression of proteins that regulate the induction of autophagy, formation of autophagosome, and fusion of autophagosome and lysosome was confirmed. Obesity was induced in the experimental animals (SD rats) through 20 weeks of high-fat diet (carbohydrate: 20%, fat: 60%, and protein: 20%), and they were subsequently subjected to 8 weeks of treadmill exercise (5 days/week, 30 min/day, 5 minutes; 8m/min, 5 minutes; 11m/min, 20 minutes; 14m/min). The experimental groups comprised the normal diet control group (ND-CON, n=10), high-fat diet comparison group (HFD-CON, n=10), and high-fat exercise group (HFD-TE, n=10). Oral glucose tolerance test was conducted before and after 8 weeks of treadmill exercise, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. Through fasting insulin and fasting glucose levels, HOMA-IR, which is an index of insulin resistance, and abdominal visceral fat/body weight (AVF/BW) were calculated for comparison. Moreover, autophagy-related proteins were analyzed from cardiac tissue to investigate the effects of exercise training. Obesity was successfully induced in the HFD-CON group through long-term high-fat diet, and the HFD-CON group had higher body weight, AUC, HOMA-IR, and AVF/BW compared to the ND-CON group. The HFD-TE group, which underwent 8 weeks of treadmill exercise, showed improvements in AUC, HOMA-IR, and AVF/BW. Although the body weight tended to decrease as well, there was no statistically significant difference. mTOR and AMPK, which are involved in the induction of autophagy, both decreased in obesity but increased upon exercise. Beclin-1, BNIP3, ATG-7, p62, and LC3, which are related to the formation of autophagosomes, all increased in obesity and decreased after exercise. Cathepsin L and LAMP2, which regulate the fusion of autophagosome and lysosome, both decreased in obesity and increased upon exercise. Physical activity, including treadmill exercise, was found to induce normal autophagy and improve pathological phenomena observed in metabolic diseases. Therefore, the findings suggest the need to consider treadmill exercise as a primary means to achieve effective prevention and treatment of cardiac diseases.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.19-32
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• 2024

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Atherosclerosis is associated with increased inflammation in the visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Vitamin D has been reported to modulate the inflammatory responses of stromal vascular cells (SVCs) and adipocytes in adipose tissue, but the role of vitamin D in atherosclerosis biology is unclear. This study examined the effects of in vitro 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ (1,25[OH]₂D₃) treatment on the inflammatory responses of SVCs and adipocytes from atherosclerotic mice. MATERIALS/METHODS: C57BL/6J (B6) mice were divided randomly into 2 groups and fed a 10% kcal fat control diet (control group, CON) or 41% kcal fat, 0.21% cholesterol (high fat + cholesterol, HFC) diet (obese group, OB), and B6.129S7-Ldlr^tm1Her/J (Ldlr^-/-) mice were fed a HFC diet (obese with atherosclerosis group, OBA) for 16 weeks. SVCs and adipocytes isolated from VAT were pre-incubated with 1,25(OH)₂D₃ for 24 h and stimulated with lipopolysaccarides for the next 24 h. Proinflammatory cytokine production by adipocytes and SVCs, the immune cell population in SVCs, and the expression of the genes involved in the inflammatory signaling pathway in SVCs were determined. RESULTS: The numbers of total macrophages and SVCs per mouse were higher in OB and OBA groups than the CON group. The in vitro 1,25(OH)₂D₃ treatment significantly reduced macrophages/SVCs (%) in the OBA group. Consistent with this change, the production of interleukin-6 and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) by SVCs from the OBA group was decreased by 1,25(OH)₂D₃ treatment. The 1,25(OH)₂D₃ treatment significantly reduced the toll-like receptor 4 and dual-specificity protein phosphatase 1 (also known as mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 1) mRNA levels in SVCs and MCP-1 production by adipocytes from all 3 groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that vitamin D can attribute to the inhibition of the inflammatory response in VAT from atherosclerotic mice by reducing proinflammatory cytokine production.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.38-47
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• 2018

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the association between sodium excretion and obesity for healthy adults in the Gwangju area. Methods: The participants included 80 healthy adults aged 19 to 69 years in Gwangju. The dietary intake and sodium excretion were obtained using the 24-hour recall method and 24 hour urine collection. The participants were classified into two groups according to the amount of urinary sodium excretion: (${\leq}141.75mmol/dL$, > 141.75 mmol/dL). Results: After adjusting for sex, age, smoking history, and income, the high excretion of sodium group was significantly higher for weight, body mass index, body fat mass, percent body fat, visceral fat area (VFA), waist circumference, hip circumference, and WHR. The energy and nutrients intake were significant after adjusting for sex, age, smoking history, and income. The LSE group had a significantly higher fat intake and Na/K intake ratio. The HSE group had significantly higher fiber intake, and K intake. As the amount of urinary sodium excretion increased, the risk of obesity before correction was 3.57 (95% CI: 1.13-11.25) times greater, and the risk of obesity of T3 increased significantly by 3.33 times (95% CI: 1.05-10.59). After correcting for sex and age, the obesity risk of T2 increased significantly by 4.23 times (95% CI: 1.11-16.06), and after correcting for sex, age, smoking history, and income, the obesity risk of T2 increased significantly by 6.81 times (95% CI: 1.44-32.19) the risk of obesity. Conclusions: An association exists between sodium excretion and obesity in Korean adults. In this study, the high excretion of sodium group was obese and the risk of obesity was higher than the low excretion of sodium group.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.242-251
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• 2018

This study was investigating the anti-obesity effects of diets with a mixture of cheese, red ginseng and fermented mature fruit of Rubus coreanus Miquel. We fed the experimental diets (SC5, SC10) supplemented with 5% or 10% cheese containing of fermented mixture, then orally administered the extract of fermented mixture (RB100, RB300) at a concentration of 100 or 300 mg/kg body weight to SD rats with high fat diet (HFD). The results were as follows: Sample cheese groups decreased visceral fat mass and adipocyte size of stomach compared to that of HFD group. Additionally, lipid droplets of liver in sample cheese groups were smaller than that in HFD group. The serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (tChol), glucose, leptin, and insulin levels in sample cheese group were lower than that in HFD group. But, the serum adiponectin and HDL-cholesterol (cHDL) levels were higher than that in HFD group. These results suggest that fermentation of red ginseng and Rubus coreanus mixed with cheese might be helpful in preventing obesity in high fat diet-fed rats.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.1-22
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• 2014

Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between weak children and growth indices. Methods One hundred twenty-six of the first and the second grade elementary school students who didn't have to develop yet their secondary sexual characteristics answered the questionnaire. Their bone age and body composition were measured. Results 1. According to the Weak Children questionnaire analysis, respiratory problem was one of the biggest problems in the weak children group (35.7%), followed by digestive problems (23.0%), psycho-neurological problems (22.2%), neuromotor problems (9.5%), and urogenital problems (8.7%). 2. From the comparison between growth indices of weak children and that of normal children are as follows: 1) The group of children who had problem in their digestive system had lower growth indices than the normal average children group. The growth indices includes mean height, weight, total body water, protein mass, mineral mass, body fat, skeletal muscle mass, body fat percentage, body mass index (BMI), and basal metabolic rate (BMR). 2) The children who had urogenital weakness had lower mean height, RH (Recent Height), RH - MPH {Recent Height(%) - Mid-Parental Height(%)}, RUS (Radius, Ulna and Short bone) score, weight, protein mass, body fat, BMI, and visceral fat than the normal children group. 3. The results of the multiple comparisons of growth indices and weak children groups are as follows: 1) Digestive weak children were the lowest in total body water, protein mass, mineral mass, skeletal muscle mass, and basal metabolic rate. 2) Urogenital weak children were the lowest in height, RH, RH - MPH, RUS score, and weight. Conclusion These results showed that children's growth is strongly correlated to their own growth problems, especially to those children who have digestive and urogenital problems. Therefore, this may be an effective way for children growth treatment in Korean medicine to treat weak symptoms.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.91-103
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• 2009

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a 8-week compound exercise and a home-based walking exercise on body composition, perceived health status, and stress of nursing students. Methods: A non-equivalent control group design with pre-post test was employed. Participants, having BMI below 23 and Percent Body Fat above 26%, were assigned to three groups; 21 for the compound exercise(A), 26 for the walking exercise(B), and 23 for the control group. For data analysis, ANOVA in SPSS was used. Results: Body Fat Mass(kg), Visceral Fat Area(cm2), and Percent Body Fat(%) of both group A and B were significantly decreased. Lean Body Mass(kg) and Fitness Score of both group A and B were significantly increased in comparing with the control group. Especially the score of PBF(%) in group A was significantly decreased than the group B. The perceived physical health status in both group A and B was significantly increased. Conclusion: Both 8-week compound exercise and walking exercise were effective in enhancing BFM(kg), VFA($cm^2$), PBF(%), LBM(kg), Fitness Score and perceived physical health status. Especially the Compound exercise program was much more effective in decreasing PBF(%) than the walking exercise program.