BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Food composition databases are necessary for assessing dietary intakes. Developing and maintaining a high quality database is difficult because of the high cost of analyzing nutrient profiles and the recent fast-changing food marketplace. Thus, priorities have to be set for developing and updating the database. We aimed to identify key foods in the Korean diet to set priorities for future analysis of foods. SUBJECTS/METHODS: modified the US Department of Agriculture's key food approach. First, major foods were analyzed, contributing to 75%, 80%, 85%, or 90% of each nutrient intake. Second, the cumulative contributions to nutrient intakes were compared before and after excluding the foods least commonly consumed by individuals. Third, total nutrient score for each food was calculated by summing all percent contributions times 100 for nutrients. To set priorities among the foods in the list, we sorted the score in descending order and then compared total percent contributions of foods, within the 100, 90, 85, 80, and 75 percentiles of the list. Finally, we selected the minimum list of foods contributing to at least 90% of the key nutrient intake as key items for analysis. RESULTS: Among the 1,575 foods consumed by individuals, 456 were selected as key foods. Those foods were chosen as items above the 80 percentile of the total nutrient score, among the foods contributing at least 85% of any nutrient intake. On an average, the selected key foods contributed to more than 90% of key nutrient intake. CONCLUSIONS: In total, 456 foods, contributing at least 90% of the key nutrient intake, were selected as key foods. This approach to select a minimum list of key foods will be helpful for systematically updating and revising food composition databases.
Diet ; Food Analysis ; Nutrition Surveys

An educational application (App) called 'Children's Food Avatar' was developed in this study by using a food DB of nutrition and functionality from Rural Development Administration (RDA) as a smart-learning mobile device for elementary school students. This App was designed for the development of children's desirable dietary habits through an on-line activity of food choices for a meal from food DB of RDA provided as Green Water Mill guide. A customized avatar system was introduced as an element of fun and interactive animation for children which provides nutritional evaluation of selected foods by changing its appearance, facial look, and speech balloon, and consequently providing chances of correcting their food choices for balanced diet. In addition, nutrition information menu was included in the App to help children understand various nutrients, their function and healthy dietary life. When the App was applied to 54 elementary school students for a week in November, 2012, significant increases in the levels of knowledge, attitude and behavior in their diet were observed compared with those of the control group (p < 0.05, 0.01). Both elementary students and teachers showed high levels of satisfaction ranging from 4.30 to 4.89 for the App, therefore, it could be widely used for the dietary education for elementary school students as a smart-learning device.
Child ; Diet ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Meals ; Nutrition Policy ; Social Planning

It is suggested that evaluation of diet quality may be a great indicator of nutritional assessment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diet quality of children and adolescents based on nutrient and food group intake and Diet Quality Index-International (DQI-I). This survey was conducted through questionnaires and diet record survey to 477 students (elementary school students; n = 131, middle school students; n = 136, and high school students; n = 210). The results showed that high school students were significantly more often to skip breakfast compared with the other groups. The middle and high school students consumed significantly higher intakes of food and energy compared to the elementary school students. Also the number of nutrients in Index of Nutritional Quality (INQ) < 1.0 of high school students were significantly higher than that of elementary and middle school students. The Korean's dietary diversity score (KDDS) of elementary school, middle school and high school students were 4.1, 4.4 and 4.3 respectively. The average DQI-I of elementary school, middle school and high school students were 66.7, 65.5, and 63.7, respectively and there was significant difference. Also, middle school students showed to have higher score in variety and adequacy category compared with the other groups, and elementary school students appeared to have higher score in moderation category. In conclusion, high school students appeared to have unhealthy dietary habits in terms of high frequency of skipping breakfast and lower INQ and DQI-I score compared to the elementary school and middle school students. Therefore, the proper dietary management should be needed for high school students.
Adolescent ; Breakfast ; Child ; Diet ; Diet Records ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Nutrition Assessment ; Nutritive Value ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The objective of this study is to select a simple and easy measurable food behavior checklist for the development of Nutrition Quotient (NQ) for children, which reflects children's diet quality, as well as to evaluate the validity of the items in the food behavior checklist. The first 36 items in the checklist were established by an expert review, modifying the preliminary 50 items in the checklist, which had been selected by a literature review and the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. 341 children in 5th and 6th grades at an elementary school participated in a one-day dietary record survey, and later responded to 36 food behavior questions of the checklist. Pearson's correlation coefficients between the responses to the food behavior checklist items along with the mean nutrient intakes of the children were calculated. From the result, in which responses of food frequency and food behavior items showed certain association with the dietary record data, a second checklist with 22 items was selected. A survey was conducted by using the second checklist. 1,393 children in the 5th and 6th grades at 12 elementary schools in metropolitan cities, such as Seoul, Busan, Gwangju, Daegu, Daejeon, and Incheon, participated in the survey. Further, an exploratory factor analysis was performed. After the analysis, 19 items (10 items from food frequency and 9 items from food behavior) were finalized as the food behavior checklist items for the NQ. The final 19 food behavior checklist items were composed of 5 factors: 'Balance', 'Diversity', 'Moderation', 'Regularity', and 'Practice'. This study is a significant first trial to establish a comprehensive system for evaluating children's food habit and diet quality. This checklist might need continuous modification and revision reflecting the change of children's dietary life and the social environment.
Checklist ; Child ; Diet ; Diet Records ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Nutrition Surveys ; Social Environment

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the features of diet and nutrition apps available in the Google Play Store. METHODS: A search was conducted in August 2017 using the Google Play Store database to identify apps related to diet and nutrition. Terms entered into the app search engine included ‘diet apps’ and ‘nutrition apps’. The first 50 apps resulting from each search term was assessed. Duplicates were removed, and a comparative analysis was performed on the remaining diet and nutrition apps. RESULTS: A total of 86 diet and nutrition apps were identified. One hundred percent (n = 86) of the apps retrieved were freely available. More than half of the apps were applicable to a target user group of all ages (94%, n = 81). Stratified analysis across unique diet and nutrition apps (total, n = 72) showed a higher average rating for the diet apps (4.4) in comparison to that for the nutrition apps (4.3). Diet apps were more likely to be recently updated than the nutrition apps (72% vs. 66%), and diet apps were more likely to feature app purchase than nutrition apps (36% vs. 19%). The average rating was slightly higher for diet apps not featuring in-app purchases, but ratings were similar for the nutrition apps. CONCLUSIONS: A centralized resource is needed that can provide information on health-related apps to allow for systematic evaluation of their effectiveness. Further research needs to examine improved methods of designing app-store platforms and presenting the available apps to properly guide users in app selection.
Consumer Health Information ; Diet ; Diet, Food, and Nutrition ; Mobile Applications ; Search Engine ; Smartphone

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of iron-fortified chocolate drinks with the Sangkap Pinoy Seal on the hemoglobin, hematocrit and RBC indices among five year old pre-school children of the Eskwelahang Munti Barangay Potrero, Malabon City.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five-year old pre-school children enrolled at the Eskwelahang Munti Barangay Potrero, Malabon City were taken blood samples. Blood was drawn through skin puncture by a trained medical technologist. Baseline hemoglobin, hematocrit and RBC indices were taken. Children with histories of acute and chronic illness, blood dyscrasias, current febrile illness and sever anemia (Hb<8g/dl) were all excluded in the study. The subjects were divided into control and experimental groups, and dewormed by giving Mebendazole 250mg/paper tab single dose prior to treatment. The control group received ferrous sulfate syrup 1.7ml (containing 8.9mg of elemental iron) once daily for 6 weeks. The experimental group was given iron-fortified chocolate drink with the Sangkap Pinoy Seal, one glass (containing 8.9mg of elemental iron) a day also for 6 weeks. The two groups were supervised by 2 research assistants. Repeat hemoglobin, hematocrit and RBC indices determination were done by the same medical technologist. The results obtained were tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis.

RESULTS: The study showed that the iron-fortified chocolate drink and ferrous sulfate had a significant effect on both the Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) and Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH). But it was the iron-fortified chocolate drink that was more effective in increasing the hemoglobin, hematocrit and RBC levels among the 5 year old pre-school children at the Eskwelahang Munti Barangay Potrero, Malabon City.

CONCLUSION: Based on the results of the study: 1.) The iron-fortified chocolate drink increased significantly the hemoglobin, hematocrit and RBC levels among the five year old pre-school children while the ferrous sulfate supplement did not increase significantly, and 2.) Comparing the increase in the hemoglobin, hematocrit and RBC levels between the 2 groups, there is significant difference favoring the iron-fortified chocolate drink relative to the ferrous sulfate supplement.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Child Preschool ; ANEMIA, IRON-DEFICIENCY ; Iron ; Food, Fortified ; Ferrous sulfate ; Hemoglobins ; Hematocrit ; Diet, Food, and Nutrition

OBJECTIVES: This study developed a smartphone nutritional application (app) for making smart and healthy choices when purchasing food in grocery stores and tested its feasibility, usability, satisfaction and acceptability. METHODS: “MyNutriCart” was developed following the ADDIE (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation) model. The goals of the app were to improve food selection when purchasing foods in the grocery stores based on a pre-defined budget, to improve dietary patterns based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and to improve weight status. It was evaluated within a pilot randomized trial using a convenient sample of 26 overweight or obese adults aged 21–45 years for 8 weeks. RESULTS: The developed app provided a grocery list of healthy foods to meet the individual requirements of all family members within a budget following the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The average use of the app was 75% on each purchase and only 37% of the recommended products were purchased. The main reasons for not purchasing the recommended items were that participants did not like these (28.5%) and that the item was unavailable in the supermarket (24.3%). Over 50% of participants considered the app as feasible, usable, satisfactory, and acceptable (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: “MyNutriCart” is the first available app for making smart and healthy choices when purchasing food in grocery stores. This app could be used as a tool to translate recommendations into a practical grocery list that meet the needs of a family within a budget.
Adult ; Budgets ; Diet ; Educational Technology ; Food Preferences ; Humans ; Mobile Applications ; Nutrition Policy ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Smartphone*

Recent economic changes throughout the world, either development or crises and recessions, have prompted a host of nutrition related problems, including a decreased prevalence of undernutrition, an increase in the prevalence of diet related diseases, widespread food insecurity as crop prices increase, and so on. In addition, evidence is mounting that suggests that exposure to poor nutrition early in life is a predisposing factor for chronic diseases in adulthood. Thus, the role of international or community nutrition professionals is vital to not only studying and understanding the interplay between economics, food policy, and health, but also to improving the ability to intervene and prevent many problems related to food insecurity in developed and developing countries. The purpose of this review is to outline and describe these issues as a means to open discussion on how to best alleviate major nutrition problems in the world.
Adult ; Chronic Disease ; Developing Countries ; Diet ; Food Supply ; Humans ; Malnutrition ; Nutrition Policy ; Prevalence

Although food insecurity might be associated with poor dietary intake, this relationship has not been researched in Korea. This study examined the association of food security with dietary intake from the third Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Food security was measured by a self-reported hunger measure on the dietary situation of subjects' households in the previous year and approximately 2/3 of the subjects lived in food-insecure households. Dietary intake was based on a 24-hour dietary recall. Food insecurity was significantly associated with low nutrients intake and nutrients intake compared to dietary reference intakes (DRI) was also lower among subjects in food-insecure households. Overall diet quality based on dietary diversity score (DDS) was worse in food-insecure subjects. Food security should be considered an important issue to public health because dietary change due to food insecurity may affect health status.
Diet ; Family Characteristics ; Food Supply ; Hunger ; Korea ; Nutrition Surveys ; Public Health

Objective To investigate the food preferences and explore the potential association between dietary knowledge and food preferences in residents aged 18 and over in China,so as to provide a basis for promoting healthy diets.Methods The latent class analysis was carried out with the 2015 cross-sectional data of China health and nutrition survey to categorize the food preferences among 8 783 residents aged 18 and over.Multinomial Logistic regression was adopted to assess the association between and dietary knowledge and food preferences.Results The food preferences of the residents aged 18 and over in China were classified into preference for less vegetable(3.28%),lack of preference(11.20%),diverse preferences(4.19%),and preference for healthy diets(81.33%).The proportion of the adults with dietary knowledge was 36.87%(3 238/8 783).The dietary knowledge varied in the adults with different food preferences(all P<0.001).After adjusting for gender,age,urban and rural distribution,education background,and annual household income,for each point increase in the dietary knowledge score,there was an estimated reduction of 22% in the probability of preferring less vegetables(OR=0.78,95%CI=0.76-0.80, P<0.001),13% in the probability of lacking preference(OR=0.87,95%CI=0.86-0.89, P<0.001),and 3% in the probability of having diverse preferences(OR=0.97,95%CI=0.94-1.00, P=0.030).Compared with those lacking dietary knowledge,the individuals with dietary knowledge had a 77% less probability of preferring less vegetables(OR=0.23,95%CI=0.16-0.32, P<0.001),a 55% less probability of lacking preference(OR=0.45,95%CI=0.39-0.53, P<0.001),and a 23% less probability of having diverse preferences(OR=0.77,95%CI=0.61-0.96, P=0.023).Conclusions The residents aged 18 and over in China presented four food preferences,including preference for less vegetables,lack of preference,diverse preferences,and preference for healthy diets,the last of which had the highest proportion.The individuals with lower levels of dietary knowledge have higher probability of preferring unhealthy food.
Adult ; Humans ; Adolescent ; Food Preferences ; Latent Class Analysis ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diet ; Nutrition Surveys ; China