OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to develop an assessment tool for middle aged women's health status based on dietary patterns, which will have practical applications in the working field of health and hygiene, aiming at improving the middle aged women's quality of life through their health improvement. METHODS: As a first step, a literature review was conducted and the original data of '2008~2009 Korea Health and Nutrition Examination Survey' were reanalyzed. This analysis identified 65 preliminary questions that may be relevant to the study. After verifying the content validity by experts, the 65 questions were reduced into 51 questions. In order to secure higher validity of the candidate items, verification of their clinical validity was conducted among women aged between 45 and 60 years. Finally, an assessment tool was developed by applying weight and scoring. RESULTS: Selected 51 questions were used to verify clinical validity and the results showed that 20 questions were relevant, nine questions ('regular meal time', 'regular amount of meal', 'intake frequency of dairy products', 'intake frequency of fruits', 'intake frequency of meat products', 'intake frequency of high cholesterol foods', 'intake frequency of salty foods', 'appetite', 'eat breakfast everyday') were related to dietary life. Eleven other questions ('self-rated health status', 'deep sleep', 'smoking', 'frequency of drinking', 'stress levels', 'health-related fitness levels', 'pounding of the heart', 'strange feelings on the skin', 'interfere with daily life', 'menopause will bring you a chance to see the life in a different perspective', and 'body mass index') were selected as valid questions. For the response scale for each question, 5 point Likert scale was used to make total 100 point score. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first attempt to develop a health status assessment tool for middle aged women based on their dietary patterns. We conclude that this tool is expected to be a useful and practical tool in the field.
Breakfast ; Cholesterol ; Female ; Humans ; Hygiene ; Korea ; Meals ; Meat ; Middle Aged ; Quality of Life ; Women's Health

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to verify the validity and judgment criteria setting of a health status assessment tool based on dietary patterns for middle-aged women. METHODS: A total of 474 middle-aged women who visited the Comprehensive Medical Examination Center at Hanmaeum Hospital in Changwon were enrolled (IRB 2013-0005). The validity was verified using clinical indicators for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome (MS), and it was used to set the criteria for the tool. A logistic regression analysis was performed for validation. The area under-receiver operation (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and Youden Index were calculated through ROC curve analysis. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 21, and p value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean score of the group with no MS (73.3 points) was significantly higher compared to the group with MS (65.7 points) (p < 0.001). An analysis of the association between the tool scores and risk of MS showed a 0.15-fold reduction in the risk of MS every time the tool's score increased by one point. As the result of the ROC curve analysis, the assessment reference point was set to 71 points, indicating 77.0% sensitivity and 61.0% specificity. Risk of MS was significantly higher in the group with a score of less than 71.0 than a group with more than 71 points (OR=5.28, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study was the first attempt to develop a health status assessment tool based on the dietary patterns for middle-aged women, and this tool has proven its usefulness as an MS assessment tool through the application of middle-aged women in the field of health screening.
Diagnosis ; Female ; Gyeongsangnam-do ; Humans ; Judgment ; Logistic Models ; Mass Screening ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Women's Health

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to verify the validity and judgment criteria setting of a health status assessment tool based on dietary patterns for middle-aged women. METHODS: A total of 474 middle-aged women who visited the Comprehensive Medical Examination Center at Hanmaeum Hospital in Changwon were enrolled (IRB 2013-0005). The validity was verified using clinical indicators for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome (MS), and it was used to set the criteria for the tool. A logistic regression analysis was performed for validation. The area under-receiver operation (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and Youden Index were calculated through ROC curve analysis. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 21, and p value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean score of the group with no MS (73.3 points) was significantly higher compared to the group with MS (65.7 points) (p < 0.001). An analysis of the association between the tool scores and risk of MS showed a 0.15-fold reduction in the risk of MS every time the tool's score increased by one point. As the result of the ROC curve analysis, the assessment reference point was set to 71 points, indicating 77.0% sensitivity and 61.0% specificity. Risk of MS was significantly higher in the group with a score of less than 71.0 than a group with more than 71 points (OR=5.28, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study was the first attempt to develop a health status assessment tool based on the dietary patterns for middle-aged women, and this tool has proven its usefulness as an MS assessment tool through the application of middle-aged women in the field of health screening.
Diagnosis ; Female ; Gyeongsangnam-do ; Humans ; Judgment ; Logistic Models ; Mass Screening ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Women's Health

No abstract available.
Neoplasm Metastasis*

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of supplementary diet in infants. Influence of appropriate dietary habits on infants was also examined by being applicable to diets fortified chewiness as a means of intervention. The iron supplementary diet was supported to the healthy infants twice a day for three months. Measures of hemoglobin, hematocrit, RBC count, serum iron, TIBC, ferritin, development examination, and dietary intake patterns of experimental group (n = 25) and control group (n = 20) were performed before and after the intervention. The amount of iron intake from the supplementary diet in the experimental group was 1.77 +/- 0.80 mg/day. After the intervention period, the experimental group not only had increased intakes of grains also decreased intakes of milk. Outcomes observed in infants receiving iron intervention showed that the improved trend of excessive milk intakes and the possibility as a regular diet by serving the iron supplementary diet which can apply to main dish. All measures in blood did not provide significant differences except TIBC between the experimental and the control group before the intervention. But, after the intervention, the experimental group improved most levels of measures, especially significance in hemoglobin, but serum iron. Development of two groups did not differ significantly and both groups were in the range of normal infants' development. However, the levels of MDI and PDI evaluated by BSID-II in the experimental group were slightly higher than the control. Furthermore, the development of cognitive and languistic function was associated with infant growth in the experimental group. In conclusion, this research demonstrated that the iron supplementary diet could affect the iron status and the development of infants despite low-dose supplementation of iron.
Edible Grain ; Diet* ; Ferritins ; Food Habits ; Hematocrit ; Humans ; Infant* ; Iron* ; Milk

The purpose of this study was to develop of nutritional education activities and effect evaluation in related curriculums for all Dongbu Elementary School children in Jinhae by the teacher in charge. This educational purpose was to build a desirable dietary behavior for optimal growth and health in elementary school children. The educational program contents were developed according to 1) selection of content related curriculums 2) analysis of contents related on dietary habits by grade 3) preparation teaching plans to build desirable dietary habits 4) development of teaching manual by turns. Twelve hours of nutrition education at all school classes were done from March 2 to December 10 2004 in Dongbu Elementary School in Jinhae, Gyeongnam. The education effects were evaluated through the questionnaire surveys before and after the education and their comparative analysis. The results of this study were summarized as follows : Forty percent of the underweight group, 22.8% of the normal group, 42.2% of the obese group had the wrong perceptions on their body figures, but after nutrition education 80.5% of the underweight group, 94.3% of the normal group, 97.9% of the obese group gleaned the correct perceptions on their body figures (p<0.001). As the effects of the education, the subjects who exercise more than 3 times in a week increased in all groups (p<0.01 - 0.001), notably in the obese group. Meal regularity (p<0.001), skipping meals (p<0.001), eating rate and snack selection patterns (p<0.01 - p<0.001) also improved by nutrition education. We could also observe the effects of the nutrition education through the affirmative statements which appeared in their dietary records. These results showed a possibility of nutrition education activities in related curriculums to improve in dietary habits of school children. Next year, we will start with the system of nutrition teachers in elementary school, but nutrition teacher cannot undertake the task of teaching and food service management alone. Because of that, we intend to develop this program as an alternative proposal for the nutrition education in elementary schools.
Child* ; Curriculum* ; Diet Records ; Eating ; Education* ; Food Habits* ; Food Services ; Humans ; Meals ; Snacks ; Thinness

No abstract available.

We analyzed data from the combined 2008~2009 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) to compare the health factors related to menopausal stages in 45~60 year old Korean women. In this study, we classified the subjects into a premenopausal group (n = 439) and a postmenopausal group (n = 683). In the postmenopausal group, age was higher (p < 0.001), monthly income (p < 0.01) and education levels (p < 0.001) were significantly lower than in the premenopausal group. Body fat % and waist circumferences were also higher in the postmenopausal group than in the premenopausal group. The serum glucose (p < 0.05), total cholesterol (p < 0.001), LDL-cholesterol (p < 0.001), triglyceride (p < 0.001), GOT (p < 0.001), GPT (p < 0.001) in the postmenopausal group were higher than in the premenopausal group. The postmenopausal group showed a significantly lower quality of life compared to the premenopausal group (p < 0.01). With regard to dietary quality, nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR) of vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and niacin in the postmenopausal group were significantly lower than in the premenopausal group. The levels of glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride showed a significantly positive correlation with age, waist circumferences, body fat % and BMI. The 45~60 year old Korean women in this study showed high levels of obesity and serum lipids. Also, intakes of the vitamins and minerals of the women did not meet the level of Dietary reference intakes for Koreans. Therefore, nutritional risk may be high in the women, especially in postmenopausal women. In order to prevent the health risk, women's health care including the quality of the meal should be considered.
Adipose Tissue ; Cholesterol ; Female ; Glucose ; Humans ; Meals ; Minerals ; Niacin ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity ; Quality of Life ; Riboflavin ; Thiamine ; Vitamin A ; Vitamins ; Waist Circumference ; Women's Health

This study was carried out to investigate among adolescents (total = 729) the relationship between their self-esteem, body-cathexis, their attitudes toward the importance of their bodies, their anthropometric characteristics, their perceptions of their body shapes and their experiences with weight control. The results are summarized as follows: The mean values for self-esteem and body-cathexis were generally low, but these values were significantly higher among boys than girls (p < 0.01 - 0.001). However the mean values for their attitudes toward the importance of their bodies were relatively high and were significantly higher among girls than boys (p < 0.01). The mean values for Percent Ideal Body Weight (PIBW) and Body Mass Index (BMI) were normal and no significant differences between the genders were observed. The distribution of the PIBW and the BMI values showed a higher rate for normal weights among the girlsand a higher rate for underweightedness and obesity among the boys (p < 0.01). With regard to their perception of their body image, among the boys, their current figures were almost identical with their idea of an ideal figure, but among the girls, their idea of an ideal figure was thinner than their current figure. The girls were more dissatisfied with their own body image than the boys (p < 0.001). Fifty-four percent of the subjects had previous weight control experience, and the girls had significantly more experience than the boys (p < 0.001). Their main reason for practising weight control was to lose weight (65.3%). Those who had more weight control experience had lower satisfaction with their body shapes, higher PIBW, higher BMIs or currently had fatter figures. Their standard image of their figures was influenced by TV (40.3%) and friends (36.9%). There was a weakly positive correlation between their self-esteem and their satisfaction with their body shapes, and a weakly negative correlation between their satisfaction with their body shapes and their attitudes toward the importance of their bodies. These results suggest the necessity for an educational program for adolescents as to foster a positive body image. Such a program should consider psychological factors such as selfesteem, satisfaction with body shape and attitudes toward the importance of the body
Adolescent* ; Body Image ; Body Mass Index ; Female ; Friends ; Humans ; Ideal Body Weight ; Obesity ; Psychology ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVES: This study attempted to compare adolescents' dietary behaviors and perceptions by gender in order to recommend useful strategies for nutrition interventions. METHODS: Subjects were 2,363 middle school (MS) and high school (HS) students. They completed a self-administered questionnaire on their interest in diet and health, dietary perceptions, nutrition knowledge, dietary practices, and dietary environment at home. Data were analyzed using t-test, χ2-test, and simple regression analysis by gender and by school groups. RESULTS: Overall, girls obtained higher scores than boys did for "interest" (MS: p<0.001; HS: p<0.01), "dietary perceptions" (MS: p<0.001; HS: p<0.01), and "knowledge" (MS: p<0.01; HS: p<0.001). Regarding "dietary practices," no gender differences were observed among MS students, however, among HS students, boys obtained higher scores-reflecting good practices-than girls did (p<0.01). In all subjects, dietary environment at home was strongly associated with dietary practice than other variables (MS boys: β=0.435, p<0.001; MS girls: β=0.492, p<0.001, HS boys: β=0.271, p<0.001; HS girls: β=0.429, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We observed gender differences in some of the variables such as knowledge and perception among adolescent students. Educational programs and core strategies that consider these gender differences need to be developed. Specifically, for girls, educational programs should focus on facilitating dietary recommendation adherence, whereas for boys, the program could focus on improving dietary knowledge and perceptions.
Adolescent ; Diet ; Female ; Humans