OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the improvement of food habits and eating behavior of cancer patients during treatment through the continuous nutrition counseling and monitoring. METHODS: Thirty cancer patients during treatment were participated in this study, and the first nutrition counseling and the first and second monitoring were conducted after 2-3 week intervals. RESULTS: As a result of the nutrition counseling and monitoring, all patients improved to a great extent to consume 3 meals a day. The frequency of having breakfast was significantly increased with the nutrition counseling and continuous monitoring as well. The meal fixed quantity was stabilized and the eating speed slowed down as more nutrition counseling were done. The snack intakes of patients did not show any significant difference after the nutrition counseling but showed a slight decline after the monitoring. The frequencies of eating out and a late-night meal significantly decreased after the monitoring. The intakes of fish, meat, vegetables, milk and fruits needed for a well-balanced diet significantly increased as more nutrition counseling were done. The intakes of processed food were significantly decreased after the nutrition counseling and the intakes of fast food were significantly decreased as more nutrition counseling were done. The water intake of patients also significantly increased. In the eating behavior related to health, the frequency of drinking alcohol significantly decreased after nutrition counseling consultation and no patients had dietary supplements after the first monitoring. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that continuous nutrition counseling is effective in improving eating habits of cancer patients.
Breakfast ; Counseling* ; Diet ; Dietary Supplements ; Drinking ; Eating ; Fast Foods ; Feeding Behavior ; Food Habits ; Fruit ; Humans ; Meals ; Meat ; Milk ; Snacks ; Vegetables

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.
Breakfast ; Child ; Diet ; Eating ; Fast Foods ; Feeding Behavior ; Food Habits ; Fruit ; Humans ; Hyperphagia ; Korea ; Meals ; Meat ; Milk ; Television ; Vegetables

The handicapped frequently suffer from inappropriate food intake often resulting in overweightness, malnutrition, and poor growth and development. Our study was done on 7 to 12 year old mentally retarded children attending a special education school in Seoul. We administered questionnaire surveys and 3-day dietary recalls of the subjects, with help when needed from their stay-at home or their care-giving teachers. The questionnaires covered the general characteristics and dietary behaviors of the subjects. The degrees of handicap of the 142 children ranged from the trainable (54.9%), the educable (31.0%), and the non-trainable (14.1%). Of the children studied, 70.4% had 'breakfast always', which was higher than normal. Appetites were highest in the Down's Syndrome group. We found that the more serious the handicap, the higher the breakfast eating ratio and appetite level. The main reason for their missing breakfast differed accroding to the handicap level: 'late rising' in the educable and non-trainable groups but 'no appetite' in the trainable group. Most of the children (52.2%) spent less than 20 minutes eating their meals, the parents described their children's dietary habit problems as a pica (22.3%) or overeating (17.3%), and they indicated that teaching the children how to use spoons and chopsticks (33.1%) was the most stressful. Actually more than 85% of the subjects could not use chopsticks, and skill of using cutlery was significantly different according to the degree of handicap. The food preference for milk products was the highest. It was interesting that the handicapped who had serious food pica didn't like food groups such as grains/starches, meats/fishes/eggs/beans or vegetables/fruits.
Appetite ; Breakfast ; Child* ; Disabled Persons ; Down Syndrome ; Eating* ; Education, Special ; Feeding Behavior* ; Food Habits ; Food Preferences* ; Growth and Development ; Humans ; Hyperphagia ; Malnutrition ; Meals ; Mentally Disabled Persons* ; Milk ; Overweight ; Parents ; Pica ; Seoul ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The dietary habits and eating behaviors of nonagenarian subjects over 90 years old in Korean representative longevity belts of Damyang, Gokseong, Kurye, Sunchang were evaluated. The subjects of the study were 91 elderly people (26 males and 65 females) over 90 years old and their dietary habits, food preferences and meal patterns were collected by individual interview. The percentage of subjects, who answered "very good" or "good" for their health status, was 65.9%. In this study, 55% of subjects were without chronic diseases, and there was no significance difference in gender. Many subjects had performed regular exercise and outdoor activity. The rate of eating together with their family was 79.1%. Most of subjects (91.2%) had a regular mealtime consuming three meals a day, and they had good appetite and pleasure of eating. The higher preference of food group was fruits (95.6%), legumes (94.5%), mushrooms (93.4%) and vegetables (92.3%), but the amount of intakes is higher in vegetables than the others. Eating with family, regular exercise and self-rated good health are improved their nutrient intakes. Most frequently consumed meal pattern was rice plus soup and side dishes. The side dish consumed frequently was Namul (blanch and seasoned vegetables). From this study, the nonagenarian populations in longevity belt in Korea have good dietary habits such as regular mealtime, constant amount of meal and eat with pleasure. They are taking Korean traditional meal pattern, providing enriched antioxidant vegetable foods. Also, it can be concluded that the amount and quality of diet in the long-lived elderly are responsible for the Korean traditional family system.
Agaricales ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over* ; Appetite ; Chronic Disease ; Diet ; Eating ; Fabaceae ; Feeding Behavior ; Food Habits* ; Food Preferences ; Fruit ; Humans ; Korea* ; Longevity* ; Male ; Meals ; Pleasure ; Seasons ; Vegetables

This study was aimed at examine eating behavior and food preferences of children in preschool nursery facilities. A survey was conducted on parents using questionnaires including general characteristics, eating behavior, and food habits at home and food preferences of children in 6 nursery facilities. The children involved in this study were 150 boys and 154 girls, aged 1 to 7 years old. Sixty three percent(187 children) of the children were on 'regular' meal times, and 37.0%(110 children) were on 'irregular' meal times. The major reason for their irregular meal times were 'their' concentration on other tasks'(26.6%) and 'no appetite'(25.5%). The meal eaten best by children was 'dinner' while that eaten worst was 'breakfast'. The major type of their eating habit problem was 'unbalanced diet'(62.1%), and their mothers' response to the unbalanced diet was 'trying to persuade the child'(71.6%). The number of snacks at home was one or twice a day(97.3%), and 'preference'(67.8%) was the main reason for selecting particular snacks. Their preferred staple foods were 'cooked rice with meat & vegetables and Chinese noodles', and 'noodles with bean sauce', and their preferred soup was 'seaweed soup' Also, their most preferred meat dishes were 'fried chicken' and 'thin sliced barbecued beef. Children preferred side dishes with animal foods to those with vegetable foods. Since children liked mixed dishes, it seems desirable to introduce foods which children dislike as ingredients in mixed dishes.
Animals ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Child* ; Child, Preschool ; Diet ; Eating* ; Feeding Behavior* ; Female ; Food Habits ; Food Preferences* ; Humans ; Meals ; Meat ; Nurseries* ; Parents ; Snacks ; Vegetables ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the feeding behavior of infants and young children aged from 6 to 24-month-old in Chengdu by feeding index.

METHODS608 infants and young children were randomly selected from Chengdu and divided into 6-, 9-, 12 - 24 month-old groups. Data including basic information, breastfeeding, and complementary feeding were collected through questionnaire. The feeding status of subjects was evaluated by feeding index system (the total score was 19) established by infant feeding principle of WHO.

RESULTSThe total feeding index score (FIS) of 608 subjects was 11.0 ± 2.4. The FIS of 6-(192), in 9-(174) and 12 - 24 month-old (242) groups were 9.6 ± 2.8, 11.1 ± 2.1, 11.9 ± 1.6, respectively. The FIS was increased with month of children (F = 61.311, P < 0.05). The ratios above 60% (the score of 11.4) and 80% (the score of 15.2) of FIS were 46.4% (282/608) and 0.7% (4/608) respectively. The ratios above 60% of FIS were 26.5% (51/192), 45.4% (79/174), 66.9% (162/242) in 6-, 9-, 12 - 24 month-old groups respectively. The percentages of bottle feeding and breastfeeding were 94.2% (573/608) and 25.2% (153/608) respectively.45.1% (274/608) of them were fed by recommended feeding frequency, and 73.0% (444/608) were given enough types of food. With the month-old increasing, the foods of higher intake frequency were vegetables/fruits, cereals, milk and diary product, eggs. The intake frequency of meat was higher in 9 to 24 month-old group, but intake frequency of fish and beans was low in all groups.

CONCLUSIONThe feeding behavior of infants and young children in Chengdu is not optimistic, especially for the lower month infants.

Bottle Feeding ; Breast Feeding ; China ; Feeding Behavior ; Feeding Methods ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Nutritional Status ; Surveys and Questionnaires

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of weight control program on food habits, eating behaviors and life habits in obese elementary school children. The program consisted of nutritional education, physical exercise and behavioral therapy was conformed for 10 weeks. Participants of the study involved 41 obese children and their parents. There was significant difference in waist circumference (p<0.05) and children's body fat % significantly decreased from 35.8% to 33.0% (p<0.01) after program. There was significant increase (p<0.05) in HDL-cholesterol, 47.8 (mg/dL) to 53.6 (mg/dL) after weight control program. Food habits and eating behaviors of obese children were showed positively changes but there were no significant differences after program. Regularity of having breakfast and amount of meal under the stress condition were not significantly different after program. The levels of physical activity of obese children were significantly increased from 1.40(hr) to 1.74(hr) per day (p<0.05). But there were no significant changes in spending hours of watching television and playing computer games. Food habits, eating behavior and physical activity showed significant correlations to weight control. These results suggest that the body weight control program for obese children including nutrition education, physical exercise and behavioral therapy may be effective to improve their food habits, eating behaviors and life habits. Nevertheless we need a more concentrating program to improve life habits such as physical activity and watching television.
Adipose Tissue ; Body Weight ; Breakfast ; Child ; Eating ; Feeding Behavior ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Meals ; Motor Activity ; Parents ; Physical Education and Training ; Television ; Waist Circumference

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the eating behaviors and dietary quality of various aged adults. This study conducted through questionnaire and dietary survey by 24-hr recall to 850 adults residing in Samcheok. Subjects were divided into four groups according to the age in male and female, which included 20~29 yrs group (male n = 94, female n = 66), 30~49 yrs group (male n = 201, female n = 216), 50~64 yrs group (male n = 88, female n = 96), and >or = 65 yrs group (n = 46, female n = 43). In male, 20~29 yrs group had a larger proportion of subjects who skipped breakfast, lunch and dinner compared to other groups (p<0.001, p<0.05, p<0.01). The daily food and energy intakes in > or = 50 yrs group were significantly lower than those of < 50 yrs. Protein and fat intakes of 20~29 yrs group were significantly higher than those of the other groups. But ND (Nutrient Density) of minerals as like calcium, iron and plant iron in 20~29 yrs group were significantly lower than those of other groups. The KDDS (Korean's Dietary Diversity Score) of 20~29 yrs group, 30~49 yrs group, 50~64 yrs group and > or = 65 yrs group in male were 4.1, 3.8, 3.7 and 3.5 respectively and there was significant difference (p < 0.001). In female, skipping breakfast and dinner were significantly higher in 20~29 yrs group than in other groups (p<0.001, p<0.001). And the use of nutrient supplementation was higher in 30~49 yrs group than that of other groups (p<0.05). The daily energy intakes was higher in 20~49 yrs group than that of >or = 65 yrs group. The ND (Nutrient Density) of animal protein, vitamins A and B1 in 20~29 yrs group were significantly lower than those of other groups. The KDDS of 20~29 yrs group, 30~49 yrs group, 50~64 yrs group and > or = 65 yrs group in female were 4.0, 3.9, 3.9 and 3.6 respectively and >or = 65 yrs group was significant lower than other groups. According to these results, >or = 65 yrs and 20~29 yrs group had more dietary habit problems and poor nutrition status than 30~64 yrs group. The results of this study revealed that nutritional management and education for adequate meals should be emphasized in adults and elderly.
Adult ; Aged ; Animals ; Breakfast ; Calcium ; Eating ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Iron ; Lunch ; Male ; Meals ; Minerals ; Nutritional Status ; Plants ; Vitamins ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The purpose of this study was to assess the diet diversity, food habit and nutrient intake of obese adults who were visiting the health promotion center. This study was accomplished with the 138 obese adults (men = 103, women = 35) aged over 20 years old whose BMI were above 25 kg/m2. Nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR), the number of foods (Dietary Variety Score, DVS), and food group consumed (Dietary Diversity Score, DDS) by using the data from the three days record were analyzed and the food habit and lifestyle were assessed by self reporting questionnaire. The average energy intake of men was 2150.2 kcal which was significantly higher than that of women (p < 0.05). The intake ratio of carbohydrate, protein and fat over total energy was 54.8% : 19.3% : 25.8% in men, 59.5% : 17.8% : 22.6% in women, respectively. Frequency of the breakfast in a week above 4, 2~3 time and under one time was 75.7%, 10.7% and 9.7% in men, 77.1%, 5.7% and 14.3% in women respectively. Frequency of eating between meals in a day under one time was 73.8% in men, 57.1% in women (p < 0.05). The average DDS and DVS was 3.63 +/-0.07 and 14.10 +/-3.45, respectively which was significantly correlated with MAR (r = 0.40 in DDS, r = 0.64 in DVS, p < 0.01). The most frequent style of food pattern was DMGFV = 01101 in 35% of men, and DMGFV = 01111 in 37.1% of women. Our results show that dietary diversity and variety are useful parameters for evaluating nutrient intakes in obese adults. These findings suggest that nutritional education based on obese persons' eating behavior and eating diversity may be required to increase educational efficiency of weight control programs.
Adult* ; Breakfast ; Diet ; Eating ; Education ; Energy Intake ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Food Habits ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Life Style ; Male ; Meals ; Obesity ; Self Report ; Young Adult

This study was to investigate obesity and food habit of adolescents in Yosu, Chonnam area. It was surveyed using questionnaires with 551 adolescents consisted of 280 boys and 271 girls. The questionnaire included general characteristics, obesity index, eating behavior and snack intake pattern. The results were as follows. The proportion of obese subjects was 10% by Rohrer index but the rate of obesity by body mass index was 3.3%. The self perception of body shape were optimal (47.9%), fat (29.8%), slightly lean (14.5%), obese (4.7%) and lean (3.1%). Generally, the proportion of girls responded them as "fat" was greater than boys. The greater percentage of boys responded them as "lean" than girls. The subjects don't take breakfast regularly were 50.8% and the main reason for skipping breakfast was the lack of time (55.2%). The main type of breakfast was cooked rice (78.9%). The most favorite snacks turn out to be cookies (36.5%) and 45.7% of subjects take snacks during the rest. The reason for taking snacks was "feeling hungry" 52.6%) and the taste was the most important factor of snack choice. The results of this study showed that the most of subjects were not in a serious obesity condition, and their eating habits were generally satisfactory. Also, this study has found that it is necessary to educate the students the importance of regular intake of a balanced meal.
Adolescent* ; Body Mass Index ; Breakfast ; Eating ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Food Habits* ; Humans ; Jeollanam-do* ; Meals ; Obesity* ; Self Concept ; Snacks ; Surveys and Questionnaires