A total of 535 4th∼6th grade students in the Gyeonggi area were surveyed in an effort to increase vegetable preference and intake. They were divided into 3 groups according to the frequency of salad consumption (High-frequency group, HF, more than once a week G; Intermediate-frequency, IFG, 1∼3 times/month;Low-frequency group, LFG, less than once a month). The proportion of subjects who preferred salad over other vegetable dishes was much lower in the LFG than in the other groups. Compared to the HFG, more students in the LFG gave ‘dressing’ as the main reason for their preferring salads, and ‘because of vegetables in salad’ and ‘not knowing the necessity of eating salad’ as the main reasons. Compared to the HFG and MFG, the proportion of students responding ‘less than twice a week’ for vegetable and fruit consumption and ‘more than 2 hours/day on the internet/games’ was higher, while the preferences for namul, salads, saengchae, baechukimchi, chonggakkimchi, nabakkimchi, and fruits were lower in the LFG. The numbers of unfamiliar vegetables and dressings were lower in the HFG than in the other groups and were negatively correlated with the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption and the preferences for aengchaes, bokkeum, salad, and namul. Also, this study compared the preferences for 14 vegetables and 9 dressings as ingredients of salads by gender, grade, and frequency of eating salads.

A total of 535 4th∼6th grade students in the Gyeonggi area were surveyed in an effort to increase vegetable preference and intake. They were divided into 3 groups according to the frequency of salad consumption (High-frequency group, HF, more than once a week G; Intermediate-frequency, IFG, 1∼3 times/month;Low-frequency group, LFG, less than once a month). The proportion of subjects who preferred salad over other vegetable dishes was much lower in the LFG than in the other groups. Compared to the HFG, more students in the LFG gave ‘dressing’ as the main reason for their preferring salads, and ‘because of vegetables in salad’ and ‘not knowing the necessity of eating salad’ as the main reasons. Compared to the HFG and MFG, the proportion of students responding ‘less than twice a week’ for vegetable and fruit consumption and ‘more than 2 hours/day on the internet/games’ was higher, while the preferences for namul, salads, saengchae, baechukimchi, chonggakkimchi, nabakkimchi, and fruits were lower in the LFG. The numbers of unfamiliar vegetables and dressings were lower in the HFG than in the other groups and were negatively correlated with the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption and the preferences for aengchaes, bokkeum, salad, and namul. Also, this study compared the preferences for 14 vegetables and 9 dressings as ingredients of salads by gender, grade, and frequency of eating salads.

A total of 535 4th∼6th grade students in the Gyeonggi area were surveyed in an effort to increase vegetable preference and intake. They were divided into 3 groups according to the frequency of salad consumption (High-frequency group, HF, more than once a week G; Intermediate-frequency, IFG, 1∼3 times/month;Low-frequency group, LFG, less than once a month). The proportion of subjects who preferred salad over other vegetable dishes was much lower in the LFG than in the other groups. Compared to the HFG, more students in the LFG gave ‘dressing’ as the main reason for their preferring salads, and ‘because of vegetables in salad’ and ‘not knowing the necessity of eating salad’ as the main reasons. Compared to the HFG and MFG, the proportion of students responding ‘less than twice a week’ for vegetable and fruit consumption and ‘more than 2 hours/day on the internet/games’ was higher, while the preferences for namul, salads, saengchae, baechukimchi, chonggakkimchi, nabakkimchi, and fruits were lower in the LFG. The numbers of unfamiliar vegetables and dressings were lower in the HFG than in the other groups and were negatively correlated with the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption and the preferences for aengchaes, bokkeum, salad, and namul. Also, this study compared the preferences for 14 vegetables and 9 dressings as ingredients of salads by gender, grade, and frequency of eating salads.

This study compared the pattern of purchasing nutritional supplements and obtaining nutrition information and the Nutrition Quotient of adults who exercise regularly according to the frequency of muscle training (LM, muscle training less than two days/week; MM, 2∼3 days/week; HM, more than three days/week). Compared to the other groups, significantly more men in the HM group answered that they had purchased supplements and would repurchase them. They presented “increasing muscle mass” as the purpose of buying them and “types and contents” as the major factor to consider before buying. The supplements that significantly more subjects in the HM group purchased than in the other groups were protein supplements, BCAA (Branched-chain amino acid), arginine, and caffeine supplements for men and protein supplements, BCAA and carnitine for women. Compared to the other groups, significantly more men and women in the HM group reported “trainer” as the major source of nutrition information, and significantly more men in the HM group reported “increasing muscle mass” as the 1st topic of nutrition education that they wanted to receive and were satisfied with the information that they obtained. Most of all, males and females in the HM group had significantly a higher Nutrition Quotient than in the other groups. The differences between males and females in variables regarding exercise, the patterns of using supplements and acquiring nutrition information, and Nutrition Quotient were also found. These results can provide basic data for developing educational materials emphasizing the wise consumption of nutrition information, including supplement intake.

In the current years, it has now become necessary to establish standards for micronutrient intake based on scientific evidence. This review discusses issues related to the development of the 2020 Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (KDRI) for magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu), and future research directions. Following issues were encountered when establishing the KDRI for these minerals. First, characteristics of Korean subjects need to be applied to estimate nutrient requirements. When calculating the estimated average requirement (EAR), the KDRI used the results of balance studies for Mg absorption and factorial analysis for Zn, which is defined as the minimum amount to offset endogenous losses for Zn and Mg. For Cu, a combination of indicators, such as depletion/repletion studies, were applied, wherein all reference values were based on data obtained from other countries. Second, there was a limitation in that it was difficult to determine whether reference values of Mg, Zn, and Cu intakes in the 2020 KDRI were achievable. This might be due to the lack of representative previous studies on intakes of these nutrients, and an insufficient database for Mg, Zn, and Cu contents in foods. This lack of database for mineral content in food poses a problem when evaluating the appropriateness of intake. Third, data was insufficient to assess the adequacy of Mg, Zn, and Cu intakes from supplements when calculating reference values, considering the rise in both demand and intake of mineral supplements. Mg is more likely to be consumed as a multi-nutrient supplement in combination with other minerals than as a single supplement. Moreover, Zn-Cu interactions in the body need to be considered when determining the reference intake values of Zn and Cu. It is recommended to discuss these issues present in the 2020 KDRI development for Mg, Zn, and Cu intakes in a systematic way, and to find relevant solutions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the consumption status and perception of soy meat among university students and to compare their sensory evaluations of commercial meatballs and soy meatballs. The subjects were students at a university who were grouped into those majoring in food and nutrition and those not majoring in the subject. The results of the two groups were compared. The main sources through which the students became aware of meat analogs were examined. The food and nutrition major students were about three times more likely to learn about meat analogs through ‘education’, and those not majoring in the subject were about four times more likely to learn about them from the social media (P＜0.01). The most common reason for having tried soy meat was 'curiosity' and that for not eating it was ‘no opportunity’. Without significant differences between groups, the most common answer for questions relating to the product that they had eaten was ‘Ramen flakes’ (30.5%) and the most common answer for the routes for eating the product was in the order of: ‘restaurants’ (36.6%)＞school lunches (24.9%)＞large and medium-sized supermarkets (22.8%). The most common answer to the question inviting suggestions on ‘improvement points to promote the consumption of soy meat’ was ‘taste’(19.2%), followed by ‘product promotion’ and ‘reasonable price’. About half of the subjects failed to differentiate the soy meatballs from regular meatballs before the sensory test and 21.3% after that. The difference in the sensory test scores of the two types of meatballs with respect to ‘texture’ was significantly higher for the major students than for the non-major students (P＜0.05). These results could provide basic information that could enable the promotion of soy meat.

Purpose: With increased time spent at home due to prolonged online classes, this study sought to determine how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the mukbang- and cookbang-watching patterns and dietary life of college students. Methods: All students majoring in food and nutrition (FN) at a college in Gyeonggi, Korea, participated in the survey in April 2019 (M/F = 36/106) and June 2020 (M/F -37/130) and data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0. Results: Compared to students responding in 2019, those in 2020 reported more frequently eating alone (p < 0.01) and cooking (p < 0.01), and evaluated their diets better regarding pleasant mealtimes atmosphere (p < 0.05), moderation in drinking (p < 0.05), and not consuming excessively delivery foods (p < 0.001), processed foods (p < 0.01), foods with animal fat (p < 0.01), salty foods (p < 0.01), and sweets (p < 0.01). Although the proportion of respondents who answered that they watched mukbang and cookbang at least occasionally did not change, greater proportions of respondents reported watching both genres frequently (p < 0.001, respectively) and spending less time/day in watching mukbang (p < 0.05) in 2020 vs. 2019. While they evaluated the effect of mukbang- and cookbang-watching on overall diet similarly, the proportion of respondents that reported feeling as though mukbang-watching prompted them to eat more of less-desirable foods decreased from 54.3% to 41.5% (p < 0.05).Diet improvement of participants due to COVID-19 resulted in that the association between frequent mukbang-watching and unhealthier dietary habits in 2019 was not shown in 2020. Conclusion Our results suggest that the prolonged at-home stays due to COVID-19 might have improved many aspects of diet and decreased undesirable effect of frequent mukbangwatching in case of college students majoring in FN.

Purpose: This study compares the snacking pattern, diet, lifestyle, and food preference of children by evaluating the most frequently eaten snacks. Methods: The survey enrolled 435 students from three elementary schools in Gyeonggi. Based on the most frequently eaten snacks, the subjects were divided into 3 groups: fruits and milk/dairy products for natural snacks (NS, n = 114); noodles, snack foods and fast foods for meal-like snacks (MS, n = 74); cookies, beverages and bread as sweet snacks (SS, n = 247). Results: Compared to the MS group, preferences of the NS group were significantly higher for jabgokbap (cooked rice with multi-grains, p < 0.05) and saengchae (seasoned raw vegetables, p < 0.01), and significantly lower for gogitwigim (deep-fried meat, p < 0.05). Taste preference of the NS group was considered to be more desirable; the taste preference of more subjects was ‘sweet taste’ in the SS group, ‘spicy taste’ in the MS group, ‘salty taste’ in the MS and SS groups, and ‘sour taste’ and ‘bland taste’ in the NS group than the other groups. Compared tothe MS and SS groups, the NS group was determined to exercise more frequently; exercising for more than 30 minutes/day was determined to be 76.3% in the NS group and 58.1% and 57.9% in the other groups (p < 0.01). Moreover, a higher proportion of subjects in the MS group tended to answer ‘not hungry’ as the reason for leaving school meals, as compared to other groups (p = 0.055), thereby suggesting that inappropriate snacking habits interfere with regular meals. Conclusion This study provides evidence that healthy snacking habits, which include natural snacks such as milk/dairy products and fruits, are important for children during the elementary school years, since these habits are associated with healthier diet, lifestyle, and food and taste preferences. These results provide basic information for developing nutritional education materials for elementary school children.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the curtailing of school meal services. This study aimed to compare the diets of students attending online classes who prepared their own lunch under these circumstances, with those of their counterparts who had their lunch prepared for them. In December 2020, a survey was conducted on 204 students (75 male and 129 female) at a high school in Gyeonggi-do. The results showed that more girls prepared their own lunch than boys (53.5% vs. 36.0%, respectively, P＜0.05). Further, more participants with working mothers prepared their own lunch compared to those with unemployed mothers (60.8% vs. 23.0%, respectively, P＜0.001). Lunch was prepared either by parents (47.5%), themselves (47.1%), or others (5.4%). A comparison of the Nutrition Quotient (NQ) was carried out between the subjects who prepared their own lunch and those who ate lunch prepared by their parents. The students who prepared their own lunch had significantly lower total (P＜0.05), balance (P＜0.01), and environment (P＜0.01) sectors of NQ-A than their counterparts. Especially, subjects whose parents prepared their lunch had beanㆍtofuㆍsoy milk more frequently (P＜0.01), tended to eat vegetables more frequently (P=0.059), and skipped breakfast less frequently (P＜0.01). In conclusion, this study suggested that high school students who have to prepare their own lunch at home during the COVID-19 pandemic are the newly emerging nutritionally vulnerable group. This study may provide the basic information necessary for preparing measures to maintain the diet quality of high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic and similar situations in the future when school meal services may not be available.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: As watching food-related programs has become very popular among the young generation in Korea, this study sought to compare the Mukbang- and Cookbang-watching status of university students with their dietary life. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The participants were 380 students who were not majoring in food and nutrition at a university in Gyeonggi, Korea. Based on self- reports, the participants were grouped according to their frequency of watching Mukbang or Cookbang: frequent-watching (FW) 21.1% and 5.3%, respectively; moderate-watching (MW) 43.9% and 27.9%, respectively; and not-watching (NW) 35.0% and 66.8% respectively. RESULTS: In the FW group, up to 88.8% and 70.0% of participants reported watching Mukbang and Cookbang, respectively, ≥ 3 days/week. Almost all participants in the FW and MW groups reported intention to keep watching these shows. The most frequent watching route was “YouTube” and the most important criterion to select a program was “food". In the case of Mukbang, but not Cookbang, the participants in the FW group scored their diet significantly worse than those in the NW group (P < 0.05). A greater proportion of participants felt that watching Cookbang improved their diets rather than worsened them (14.3% vs. 0.8%, respectively), while more participants said that watching Mukbang worsened their diets rather than improved them (8.1% vs. 2.4%, respectively). In both cases, greater differences were shown in the FW groups compared to the MW groups (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01 for Cookbang and Mukbang, respectively). Moreover, the participants answered that Mukbang-watching prompted them to eat more of less desirable food, such as through eating out and purchasing convenient and delivered foods, whereas Cookbang-watching made them want to cook more of their own food. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggested that Korean university students who frequently watch Mukbang, but not Cookbang, may be a nutritionally vulnerable group that needs attention.