Objectives: Many studies have shown that social distancing, as a non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) that is one of the various measures against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is an effective preventive measure to suppress the spread of infectious diseases. This study explored the relationships between traditional health-related behaviors in Korea and social distancing practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2020 Community Health Survey conducted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (n=98 149). The dependent variable was the degree of social distancing practice to cope with the COVID-19 epidemic. Independent variables included health-risk behaviors and health-promoting behaviors. The moderators were vaccination and unmet medical needs. Predictors affecting the practice of social distancing were identified through hierarchical multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: Smokers (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.924) and frequent drinkers (aOR, 0.933) were more likely not to practice social distancing. A greater degree of physical activity was associated with a higher likelihood of practicing social distancing (aOR, 1.029). People who were vaccinated against influenza were more likely to practice social distancing than those who were not (aOR, 1.150). However, people with unmet medical needs were less likely to practice social distancing than those who did not experience unmet medical needs (aOR, 0.757). Conclusions Social distancing practices were related to traditional health behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and physical activity. Their patterns showed a clustering effect of health inequality. Therefore, when establishing a strategy to strengthen social distancing, a strategy to protect the vulnerable should be considered concomitantly.

We analysed the optic nerve head of 151 normal eyes with 8 confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope (TopSSTM, Laser Diagnostic Technologies, Inc.), and obtained the normal values of each parameters. As the optic disc size increases, the cup shape, effective area, 1/2 depth area, C/D ratio, neuroretinal rim area, volume above, volume below, and 1/2 depth volume also increase. Therefore we obtained the normal values of these parameters according to the optic disc size. The entire subjects were divided into four groups according to the disc area, each group of 1. 5mm2-2.0mm2, 2.0mm2-2.5mm2, 2.5mm2-3.0mm2, and 3.0mm2-3.5mm2`, respectively. The normal values of other parameters such as contour variation, rnean contour depth, average depth, maximum depth, average slope, and maximum slope which are not affected by optic disc size were obtained without grouping. This may minimize the error in evaluating the optic disc parameters and may be useful in the early detection of glaucomatous optic disc changes.
Ophthalmoscopes ; Optic Disk ; Reference Values*

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

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a nutrition quotient for adolescents (NQ-A) to assess overall dietary quality and food behavior of Korean adolescents. METHODS: Development of the NQ-A was undertaken in three steps: item generation, item reduction, and validation. Candidate items of the NQ-A checklist were selected based on literature reviews, results of the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, dietary guidelines for Korean adolescents, expert in-depth interviews, and national nutrition policies and recommendations. A total of 213 middle and high school students participated in a one-day dietary record survey and responded to 41 items in the food behavior checklist. Pearson's correlation coefficients between the responses to the checklist items along with nutritional status of the adolescents were calculated. Item reduction was performed, and 24 items were selected for the nation-wide survey. A total of 1,547 adolescents from 17 cities completed the checklist questionnaire. Exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to develop a final NQ-A model. RESULTS: Nineteen items were finalized as the checklist items for the NQ-A. Checklist items were composed of five factors (balance, diversity, moderation, environment, and practice). The five-factor structure accounted for 47.2% of the total variance. Standardized path coefficients were used as weights of the items. The NQ-A and five-factor scores were calculated based on the obtained weights of the questionnaire items. CONCLUSION: Nutrition Quotient for adolescents (NQ-A) would be a useful instrument for evaluating dietary quality and food behavior of Korean adolescents. Further research on NQ-A is needed to reflect changes in adolescent's food behavior and environment.
Adolescent* ; Checklist ; Diet Records ; Humans ; Korea ; Nutrition Policy ; Nutrition Surveys ; Nutritional Status ; Weights and Measures

This study was performed to investigate the differences in food choice, nutrition labeling perceptions, and prevalence of obesity due to meal skipping in Korean elementary school children. A national survey was performed in 2010 to collect data on food intake frequency, understanding of nutrition labeling, and body mass index from 2,335 fifth grade students in 118 elementary schools selected from 16 metropolitan local governments by stratified cluster sampling. The data were analyzed using the SAS 9.1 and SUDAAN 10.0 packages. Students who consumed three meals for 6-7 days during the past week were classified into the regular meal eating (RM) group (n = 1,476) and those who did not were placed into the meal skipping (MS) group (n = 859). The daily intake frequency of fruits, vegetables, kimchi, and milk was significantly lower in the MS group compared to that in the RM group (P < 0.001), whereas the daily intake frequency of soft drinks and instant noodles (ramyeon) was significantly higher in the MS group than that in the RM group (P < 0.05). The MS group demonstrated a significantly lower degree of understanding with regard to nutrition labeling and high calorie foods containing low nutritional value than that in the RM group. The distribution of obesity based on the percentile criteria using the Korean growth chart was different between the MS and RM groups. The MS group (8.97%) had a higher percentage of obese subjects than that in the RM group (5.38%). In conclusion, meal skipping was related to poor food choice, low perception of nutrition labeling, and a high prevalence of obesity in Korean fifth grade children.
Body Mass Index ; Carbonated Beverages ; Child ; Eating ; Food Labeling ; Fruit ; Growth Charts ; Humans ; Meals ; Milk ; Nutritive Value ; Obesity ; Phenothiazines ; Prevalence ; Vegetables

This pilot study was performed to produce data of the Children's Dietary Life Safety (CDLS) Index which is required by the Special Act on Safety Management of Children's Dietary Life and to evaluate the CDLS Index for 7 metropolitan cities and 9 provinces in Korea. To calculate the CDLS Index score, data regarding the evaluation indicators in the children's food safety domain and children's nutrition safety domain were collected from the local governments in 2009. For data regarding the indicators in the children's perception & practice domain, a survey was conducted on 2,400 5th grade children selected by stratified sampling in 16 local areas. Relative scores of indicators in each domain were calculated using the data provided by local governments and the survey, the weights are applied on relative scores, and then the CDLS Index scores of local governments were produced by adding scores of the 3 domains. The national average scores of the food safety domain, the nutrition safety domain and the perception and practice domain were 23.74 (14.67-26.50 on a 40-point scale), 16.65 (12.25-19.60 on a 40-point scale), and 14.88 (14.16-15.30 on a 20-point scale), respectively. The national average score of the CDLS Index which was produced by adding the scores of the three domains was 55.27 ranging 46.44-58.94 among local governments. The CDLS Index scores produced in this study may provide the motivation for comparing relative accomplishment and for actively achieving the goals through establishment of the target value by local governments. Also, it can be used as useful data for the establishment and improvement of children's dietary life safety policy at the national level.
Child ; Food Safety ; Humans ; Korea ; Motivation ; Pilot Projects ; Safety Management ; Weights and Measures

PURPOSE: Screening of preschool-age children for nutrition programs to improve dietary intake and behaviors requires cost-effective and easily administered validated assessment tools. The purpose of this study was to develop a parent/caregiver-administered instrument for measuring diet quality and behaviors of preschoolers as a nutrition quotient for preschoolers (NQ-P). METHODS: Development of NQ-P was carried out in three steps: item generation, item reduction, and validation. The 24-h dietary record was selected as the gold standard reference tool. The 38 items of the NQ-P checklist were derived from a systematic literature review, expert in-depth interviews, statistical analysis of the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, and national nutrition policies and recommendations. Self-administered questionnaires were delivered to parents who recorded 24-h dietary intakes of 100 responders aged 3~5 yr. Pearson's correlation was used to measure the level of agreement between questionnaires. Item reduction was performed, and 20 items were selected based on survey results, expert reviews, and priorities of national nutrition policy and recommendations. The 412 nationwide subjects sampled through daycare centers completed the 20-item checklist questionnaire. The construct validity of the NQ-P was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis, LISREL. RESULTS: After analyses of exploratory factors, NQ-P items identified three dimensions of diet (balance, moderation, and environment). The three-factor structure accounted for 49.28% of the total variance. Standardized path coefficients were used as weights of the items. The NQ-P and three-factor scores of the subjects were calculated by the obtained weights of the questionnaire items. CONCLUSION: A food behavior checklist for preschoolers' NQ would be a useful and suitable instrument for evaluating nutrition adequacy and dietary quality of Korean preschoolers.
Checklist ; Child ; Diet ; Diet Records ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Nutrition Policy ; Nutrition Surveys ; Parents ; Weights and Measures

The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate the construct validity of a Nutrition Quotient (NQ) for children. In a previous report (Kang, et al., 2012), the food behavior checklist for children's NQ, consisting of 19 items, was grouped into a 5-factor structure according to the exploratory factor analysis: balance, diversity, moderation, regularity, and practice. In this study, the construct validity of the NQ was assessed using a confirmatory factor analysis. Elementary school students (n = 1,393) from six large cities completed the NQ test. Indicator tests suggested an adequate model fit (goodness of fit index = 0.9613; adjusted GFI = 0.95; standardized root mean square residual = 0.0464; chi-square test statistics of < 0.001 p-value, 82.1), and item loadings were significant for all subscales (p < 0.05). The standardized path coefficients were used as the weights of the items. The NQ and the 5 factor scores of the student were calculated by the obtained weights of the questionnaire items. Logistic regression was applied to find the significant factors in order to affect a specific nutrient status. The receiver operation characteristic curve analyses were performed in order to find diagnostic cut-off points of the five factors. The food behavior checklist for children's NQ would be a handy and suitable instrument for evaluating dietary behaviors of Korean children.
Checklist ; Child ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Weights and Measures

The original version of this article contained errors in Tables. The contents of Table 4, 5, and 6 should be corrected.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a valid instrument for measuring the dietary quality and behaviors of Korean elderly. METHODS: The development of the Nutrition Quotient for Elderly (NQ-E) was conducted in three steps: item generation, item reduction, and validation. The 41 items of the NQ-E checklist were derived from a systematic literature review, expert in-depth interviews, statistical analyses of the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, and national nutrition policies and recommendations. Pearson's correlation was used to determine the level of agreement between the questionnaires and nutrient intake level, and 24 items were selected for a nationwide survey. A total of 1,000 nationwide elderly subjects completed the checklist questionnaire. The construct validity of the NQ-E was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis, LISREL. RESULTS: The nineteen checklist items were used as final items for NQ-E. Checklist items were composed of four-factors: food behavior (6 items), balance (4 items), diversity (6 items), and moderation (3 items). The standardized path coefficients were used as the weights of the items. The NQ-E and four-factor scores were calculated according to the obtained weights of the questionnaire items. CONCLUSION: NQ-E would be a useful tool for assessing the food behavior and dietary quality of the elderly.
Aged ; Checklist ; Humans ; Nutrition Policy ; Nutrition Surveys ; Weights and Measures