Korean Journal of Community Nutrition

Volume 15(2); April 2010

Original Articles

[English]
A Study on Nursery School Teacher's Knowledge and Education of Nutrition Care in Gwang-Ju: Jin Song, Young Ran Heo; Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(2):159-168. Published online April 30, 2010

Abstract PDF: This study was done to come up with a solution to effectively increase nutrition knowledge and education among nursery school teachers in the Gwang-ju metropolitan city area. The scores of teacher's nutrition knowledge were around the average of 9.4 points on a 15-point scale, which is about 63.1 points on a 100-point scale. When the types of subjects were compared, we recognized that the nursery school teachers with a college degree or those who have any training/education in nutrition had the highest scores in nutrition knowledge. Also, the nursery schools who have more than 101 children or public nursery schools had the highest scores in nutrition knowledge (p < 0.05). We can conclude that the knowledge of nutrition of nursery teachers is very lacking and it is not as high as it should be. In addition, we can also see that the dietary guidance and nutrition education time spent towards the children was very short. The lack of professional knowledge and education seems to be due to shortage of educational materials and because the teachers themselves lack the knowledge to pass on to their predecessors. In fact, even the teachers themselves feel the need to set up more nutrition-related education programs, obtain more guides and materials to teach them, as well as implement more organized and systemized teaching methods.

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[English]
Snack Consumption Behaviors and Nutrition Knowledge among Elementary School Students in Siheung-si: Eun A Cho, Soo Kyung Lee, Gyu Jin Heo; Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(2):169-179. Published online April 30, 2010

Abstract PDF: Good snack consumption behaviors are important among elementary students because snack provides additional energy and nutrients and because good dietary behaviors should be formed during early stages of life. This study investigated, among elementary school students, 1) snack consumption behaviors, 2) snack-related nutrition knowledge level, and 3) relationships between snack behaviors and snack-related nutrition knowledge. A convenience sample (N = 372), drawn from 5th and 6th graders of an elementary schools in Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, completed a pre-tested questionnaire. More than 85% of the participants snacked more than once per week. Most (77%) had their snacks at home. Fruit and fruit juice were the most frequently consumed and the most liked snack items. Taste was the most important in choosing a snack item closely followed by health/nutrition. Snack-related knowledge level was relatively high and the participants obtained their nutrition knowledge through mass media (30.4%) and family/friends (29.0%). Snack-related nutrition knowledge level and snack consumption behaviors showed positive relationships in various areas such as choosing more nutritious snack items and checking nutrition labels. Although this study was limited by its cross-sectional study design, these positive relationships suggest that better nutrition knowledge could result in better behaviors. Results of this study indicated that factual nutritional knowledge has been well transmitted to students. Therefore, future nutrition education on snacking could focus more on providing problem-solving and operational knowledge.

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[English]
Food Habits, Eating Behaviors and Food Frequency by Gender and among Seoul and Other Regions in Upper-Grade Elementary School Children: Kyung Hee Kim; Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(2):180-190. Published online April 30, 2010

Abstract PDF: This study was conducted to investigate the differences in food habits, eating behaviors and food frequency by gender and regions in upper grade elementary school children in Korea. Subjects of this study were 1,211 children, 645 boys and 566 girls, attending 6 elementary schools (4th, 5th and 6th graders). 389 children lived in Seoul and 822 children lived in other regions. Mean height, weight and BMI of subjects were 142.4 cm, 38.7 kg and 18.8 kg/m2 respectively. 70.5% of the subjects had breakfast every day and 12.4% of the subjects skipped breakfast. There were significant differences between boys and girls in causes of skipping breakfast, overeating, meal volume, and duration of meals. Girls showed more desirable eating behavior than boys (p < 0.001). Scores for specific eating behaviors such as unbalanced diet and intake of meats and vegetables were better in girls (p < 0.001), and boys ate meals faster than girls (p > 0.001). There were significant differences between Seoul and other regions in eating behavior. Eating behavior scores of children in other regions were higher than in Seoul (p < 0.01). Children in Seoul had a higher frequency of watching television with meals. Frequency of fruits (p < 0.001), milk products (p < 0.01), and meats (p < 0.05) of children in Seoul were higher than other regions. Otherwise the frequency of simple sugar products of children in other regions was higher than Seoul (p < 0.001). Frequency of green vegetables was higher for girls than boys, and frequency of fast foods was higher for boys than girls. These results showed that in nutrition education programs designed to improve the nutritional health of elementary school children, we need to focus more on differences in the children's food habits and eating behaviors by gender and regions. In consideration of these differences, such educational programs need to have a different emphasis for each gender and regions to serve its specific needs.

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[English]
A Survey on the Breakfast Skipping Rate of Korean Adults Relative to Their Lifestyle and Breakfast Skipping Reasons and Dietary Behavior of Breakfast Skippers: Sunju Yun, Hye Ryeon Jeong, Mi Hyun Kim; Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(2):191-205. Published online April 30, 2010

Abstract PDF: This study investigated the rates and reasons for breakfast skipping according to gender, age, and lifestyle related factors in Korean adults. The survey was conducted using questionnaires and the subjects included 1148 male and female adults aged 19-64. The rate of breakfast skipping (frequency of eating breakfast under 4 times/week) was 41.20% of the total subjects. The breakfast skipping rate of the male subjects was significantly higher than that of the female subjects (p < 0.001). As age and household income decreased, the breakfast skipping rate increased. Residents in small cities more frequently skipped breakfast than those in larger cities. The main reason for breakfast skipping was "lack of time for the preparation and consumption of food" and this reason was especially higher for office workers and younger adults among the participants. In addition, the proportion of habitual breakfast skippers increased with age. Among the answers regarding the person who prepares breakfast in their households, the highest proportion was for "family members" in the males and "myself" for the females. Of breakfast skippers, 77.63% answered that they consumed breakfast substitutes such as breads, dairy and fruits/vegetables. To summarize the results, the gender, age and lifestyle factors of adults were significantly related to the rates and reasons for breakfast skipping. Therefore, to reduce breakfast skipping in Korean adults, a differentiated nutritional education approach relative to gender, age, and lifestyle is needed along with the development of balanced breakfast substitutes.

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[English]
Effect of Eating with Family or Alone on the Self-rated Mental or Physical Health: The Elementary School Children in Daejeon Area: Soon Jung Sung, Sunja Kwon; Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(2):206-226. Published online April 30, 2010

Abstract PDF: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of eating with family or alone on the self-rated mental or physical health and then work out strategies of making people recognize the importance of eating with family and its practice. Study subjects were 610 primary school 5th- and 6th-grade students in Daejeon Area. A questionnaire survey was carried out. 57.9% of students had working mothers. The frequency of meal in a day was 2.90 +/- 0.42 and this frequency was lower in students who had working mothers (p < 0.05). The frequency of skipping breakfast (times/week) was 1.02 +/- 1.77. The frequencies of eating alone (times/week) were 1.04 +/- 1.65 for breakfast and 0.97 +/- 1.52 for dinner. Also, the frequency of eating alone for dinner was higher in students who had working mothers (p < 0.001). When the frequency of eating alone for breakfast or dinner was higher, the frequencies of skipping breakfast and dinner were also higher (for all, p < 0.01). When the frequency of eating alone for breakfast or dinner was higher, the self-rated positive mental health were lower (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively) and the self-rated negative mental health (for dinner, p < 0.05) and the self-rated negative physical health was higher (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively), thus presenting negative health. The frequencies of eating with family (times/week) were 3.37 +/- 2.50 for breakfast and 4.14 +/- 2.19 for dinner. Also, the frequency of eating with family for dinner was lower in students who had working mothers (p < 0.01). When the frequency of eating with family for breakfast was higher, the frequency of skipping breakfast was lower (p < 0.01). When the frequency of eating with family for dinner was higher, the frequency of skipping dinner was lower (p < 0.01). In addition, when the frequency of eating with family for breakfast or dinner was higher, the self-rated positive mental health were higher (for both, p < 0.01) and the self-rated negative mental health was lower (for breakfast, p < 0.01) and self-rated negative physical health were lower (for both, p < 0.01), thus presenting positive health. Therefore, in order to maintain positive health, it is necessary to recognize the importance of eating with family at home and educate people to carry out a systematic and continuous dietary life, thus increasing eating with family and reducing eating alone and skipping a meal.

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[English]
A Study on Weight Control Behaviour, Eating Habits and Health-related Life Habits according to Obesity Degree by Body Fat Percentage among Middle-aged Women in Gunsan City: Hye Soon Chang; Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(2):227-239. Published online April 30, 2010

Abstract PDF: The purpose of this study was to compare weight control behaviour, eating habits and health-related life habits according to the obesity degree by body fat percentage (%Fat) among middle-aged women. The subjects were 170 middle-aged women who lived Gunsan City, and they were assigned to one of the following groups based on their %Fat; normal weight group (18% - < 28%), overweight group (28% - < 33%) and obesity group (over 33%). The height, body weight, %Fat, the circumference of waist and hip of them were measured. Eating habits and health-related life habits were evaluated based on questionnaires. The results were as follows. Their weight, %Fat, body mass index (BMI), relative body weight (RBW), waist, hip, and waist-hip ratio (WHR) were significantly higher in the obesity subjects when compared to the normal and overweight subjects. Self-perception for weight (p < 0.001), desire for weight control (p < 0.01), and reasons of weight control (p < 0.05) were different among three groups. The main skipped meal was breakfast (67.9%), reasons of skipping meals were different among three groups (p < 0.05), and main reasons were "lose one's appetite" and "have not enough time". Food habits score for each food was not significantly different among three groups, but eating the meal on thinking with food combination in normal group was higher than overweight and obesity group (p < 0.01). Correlation coefficients of food habits score and anthropometric measurements were that salty of food was negative and food habits scores were positive correlation for anthropometric measurements and obesity index (p < 0.05 - p < 0.001). Frequency of exercise and fitting exercise for body were different among three groups (p < 0.05). Obesity group was lower frequency of exercise than the other groups. Regular diet was positive correlation with food combination (p < 0.01), taking fish (p < 0.05), taking vegetables (p < 0.01), taking bean products (p < 0.01) and food habits score (p < 0.01), frequency of eating out and snacks were negative correlation with taking fruits and fishes. Therefore, proper nutritional education for middle-aged women in obesity group is recommended regular diet, good food habits and exercise. The middle-aged women must decrease the frequency of eating out, snack and the salty foods, and increase the fruits and vegetables. They must have healthy life styles for exercise, smoking, and drinking.

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[English]
Development of Risk Communication Strategy and Educational Homepage on Food Additives: Sang Mi Kim, Jeong Weon Kim; Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(2):240-252. Published online April 30, 2010

Abstract PDF: The purpose of this research was to develop risk communication (RC) strategy and educational web-site on food additives for elementary students and their parents to improve their perception on food additives and dietary life. First of all, a survey was conducted from 1,200 elementary children and their parents to diagnose the perception and information needs on food additives. The survey revealed that most children and their parents did not have enough knowledge on food additives and demanded the safety information on food additives. Second, previous researches on food communication were analyzed to develop a risk communication model, and it was directly applied in this study. Third, a web site (www.foodnara.go.kr/foodaddy) was developed to upload the education materials along with up-to-date information and classroom activities for teachers on food additives. Fourth, the developed homepage was evaluated by applying to about 100 children and parents each, and majority of them showed high levels of understanding (children 85.7%, parents 79%) and satisfaction (children 77.2%, parents 64%), and the effect of getting over the prejudice against food additives was observed. The RC model developed in this study could be applied to any food risk communication, and the content and materials in this web site including booklets, animations, and quiz could be used effectively to promote the communication on food additives. In the future, it will be necessary to advertise the web site to be utilized by various consumer levels and to update the contents continuously by developing consumer-friendly communication materials.

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[English]
A Comparative Study on the Designer-Oriented Current Status of Menu Book Designs in the Restaurants of Incheon Area: Sunja Kwon, Joon Hyun Lee; Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(2):253-265. Published online April 30, 2010

Abstract PDF: The purpose of this study was to examine the designs of the menu books as an important tool of marketing and then present its improvement strategies. For this, the investigator comparatively examined the current status of menu book designs of the restaurants in Incheon area with 295 managers and then analyzed menu book designs by its designers. Menu book designers were printing houses (42.0%), specialized business (31.9%) and managers/employees (26.1%). 51.5% of menu books were impossible to substitute partially. Even there were seasonal menus or event menus, 27.5% of them were impossible to replace menu books partially; therefore, it was impossible to take a prompt action for seasonal or event menus. The easiness of understanding the terminology in menu books was average 2.74 +/- 0.45(3-point scale). The harmony of menu book design with restaurants was average 2.46 +/- 0.51 (3-point scale). Comparing to the menu books designed in specialized business, the menu books designed in printing houses or by managers/employees were uniform in type sizes (p < 0.001), had no menu photos (p < 0.001) and explanations (p < 0.001), and did not classify menus by groups (p < 0.001) in general. In addition, profit-making menus were not properly emphasized (p < 0.001), thus making the design of menu books a little improper. Therefore, it is necessary to educate managers in the restaurants to understand the importance of menu books and thus improve it. In addition, by maintaining close communication with designers of menu books, managers in the restaurants must ensure for their menu books to be designed appropriately, thus making their menu books play the role of an important marketing tool.

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[English]
Importance Evaluation about the Remedies for Improvement of Sanitation Management by Foodservice Managers: Hyun Joo Bae, Hye Yeon Lee; Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(2):266-274. Published online April 30, 2010

Abstract PDF: The purposes of this study were to evaluate on the importance about the possible remedies for improvement of sanitation management by foodservice manager and to compare dietitians' opinion and that of administrators about theirs. A questionnaire survey was performed by 282 dietitians and 56 administrators, who were involved at foodservice facilities in Daegu and Gyeongbuk from March 7 to March 9 in 2007. According to the results of the importance evaluation analysis about the remedies for improvement of sanitation management, there were significant differences between dietitians and administrators in the means of 6 items such as "remodeling of hygiene equipment and facilities", "improvement of dietitians' food safety knowledge", "self-operated management of foodservice operation", "enforcement of cooperation between the CEO or administrators and dietitians", "development of food safety education program for foodservice workers", "increasing of foodservice operating budget". In all of them, the dietitians' evaluation scores were significantly higher than that of administrators. In addition, four factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis. According to the results of one-way ANOVA, operating, education, and policy.support sector showed that significant differences across type of foodservice, frequency of meals served, number of meals served per day, dietitians' education level and career. On the other hand, supervision sector showed that significant differences across number of meals served per day and dietitians' employment type. In conclusion, in order to increase the quality of sanitation in the foodservice operation, we should increase sanitation performance and enforce the food-safety education for foodservice workers. In addition, government should increase the policy support.

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[English]
Optimal Waist Circumference for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: Inkyung Baik, Chol Shin; Korean J Community Nutr 2010;15(2):275-283. Published online April 30, 2010

Abstract PDF: There are few studies reporting optimal waist circumference that can be utilized to prevent the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We evaluated the association of waist circumference and waist and hip circumference ratio (WHR) with incident cases of CVD developed over 6 years in a population-based prospective study including Korean adults. Analyses for receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve were performed with data for 1,733 men and 1,579 women who were aged 40 to 69 years and were free of a physician-diagnosis of CVD at baseline. Information on the diagnosis of CVD was periodically reported using interviewer-administered questionnaires and anthropometric measures were obtained by biennial health examinations. We newly identified 77 cases of CVD during a follow-up period between 2003 and 2008. On the basis of measures of diagnostic accuracy including minimum distance to ROC curve and Youden index, waist circumference of 85 cm for men, in particular for male nonsmokers, and of 80 cm for women and WHR of 0.88 to 0.90 for men and of 0.83 for women were found to be optimal cutoff points to identify individuals at CVD risks. The study also found that the use of the suggested optimal values for waist circumference show higher sensitivity and lower specificity compared with 90 cm for men and 85 cm for women, which are waist cutoff points given by the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity to define abdominal obesity for Korean adults. Although lower cutoff points of waist circumference (83 cm) and WHR (0.87) were observed to be optimal for male smokers compared with male nonsmokers, whether suggesting waist cutoff points specific to smokers is needed warrants further studies. After taking into account other cardiovascular risk factors including smoking, men with waist circumference of 85 cm or greater and women with 80 cm or greater were at an increased risk of CVD. Thus, these cutoff points of waist circumference may be able to capture more individuals at CVD risks contributing to the prevention of future development of CVD.

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