BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Youth is the crucial stage between childhood and adulthood during which an individual acquires new behavior and practices including dietary habits, that may be influenced by his peers, social circle, nutrition knowledge level and other factors. The increase in awareness of young adults is of special importance from the perspective of health and prevention of obesity related chronic diseases. To measure the nutrition literacy level of university students using the Turkish version of Adolescent Nutrition Literacy Scale (ANLS). We evaluated their food habits using the Adolescent Food Habit Checklist (AFHC) tool and analysed it, if the eating habits were affected by nutrition literacy level. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on randomly selected 276 students studying in the Faculty of Health Sciences of Istanbul Aydin University, Turkey. Data was collected by means of ANLS and AFHC tools by face to face interview method. SPSS statistical sofware (IBM SPSS Statistics 19) was used to analyse the obtained data. RESULTS: Participants comprised of 47.1% males and 52.9% females with mean age of 20.0 ± 1.60 years. Mean body mass index (BMI) was determined as 22.4 ± 3.76 (23.6 ± 3.63 males 21.3 ± 3.57 females). Functional, interactive and critical nutritional literacy scores for male participants were 22.49 ± 5.71, 17.45 ± 4.84, and 28.28 ± 7.13 respectively (total 64.98 ± 10.15). For females the values were 24.66 ± 5.13, 20.17 ± 4.28, and 32.20 ± 5.65 (total 69.72 ± 8.59) respectively. For all the three sub-categories of nutrition literacy, the scores acquired by females were significantly higher than males (P < 0.001). In the AFHC tool, the mean score acquired by males were 9.26 ± 4.18 whereas for females it was 10.37 ± 3.40 significantly higher as compared to males (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: The food habits of female participants were better than males; in accordance with their nutrition literacy status. It may be concluded that food habits are influenced by nutrition literacy and therefore stress much be given to increase the nutrition awareness among children youth as well as adults.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Body Mass Index ; Checklist ; Child ; Chronic Disease ; Eating ; Female ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Literacy ; Male ; Methods ; Obesity ; Turkey ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare student consumption of school meals by school level, to identify the influencing factors of school meal consumption, and to assess improvement needs of school food service among students. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 1,441 elementary, middle, and high school students attending 58 schools in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea participated in the survey in 2015. A questionnaire and informed consent forms for students and legal guardians were sent home and completed responses were returned to the researcher. RESULTS: Approximately 58% of the students perceived the portion sizes of school meals as appropriate and 76.1% consumed almost all or all of the meals served. More elementary and middle school students than high school students consumed almost all or all of the meals (P < 0.001). A regression analysis revealed that the students with a higher dietary behavior score (P < 0.001), higher satisfaction with food service (P < 0.001), a higher environmental protection practice score (P < 0.05), and more positive attitudes toward school meals (P < 0.01) consumed significantly more meals. The provision of foods that taste good and reflecting student opinions on menus were the most important factors for increasing school meal consumption. CONCLUSIONS: To increase consumption of school meals, food service staff should provide students with quality meals and engage students in school food service. Nutrition education that emphasizes healthy eating behaviors and cafeteria environment modification that applies strategies based on behavioral economics can encourage students to consume more school meals.
Consent Forms ; Conservation of Natural Resources ; Economics, Behavioral ; Education ; Feeding Behavior ; Food Habits ; Food Services ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Legal Guardians ; Meals ; Portion Size

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Proper nutrition intake during pregnancy and lactation is very important to both mothers and babies. Pregnant women should maintain proper nutritional status to restore decreased physical strength due to pregnancy and childbirth and produce breastmilk for the growth and development of the baby. Recently, the number of Chinese people living in Korea has increased as the exchange between Korea and China becomes active. It is important to provide proper nutrition education for pregnant women of both countries considering cultural differences. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The subjects of this study were postpartum women in Gyeonggi, South Korea and Jinhua, China. The subjects were 20–45 years old less than six months after childbirth. A survey, using self-administered questionnaires, was conducted from October 2018 to January 2019. For data analysis, 221 Korean postpartum women (KPW) and 221 Chinese postpartum women (CPW) questionnaires were used. RESULTS: KPW had significantly higher nutritional knowledge score and dietary attitude score than CPW (P < 0.001). However, overall score for dietary habits was significantly higher in CPW compared to KPW (P < 0.001). In KPW, nutritional knowledge (P < 0.01) and dietary attitude (P < 0.001) had significantly positive correlations with dietary habits. The proportions of KPW and CPW who answered that they had experience of nutrition education were 28.5% and 80.1% (P < 0.001). The score for dietary habits was lower as the hours for watching TV and using mobile phone became longer in postpartum women of both countries, with significant differences in KPW (P < 0.001) and CPW (P < 0.05). In KPW, the score for dietary habits in postpartum women with exercise experience was significantly higher than that in postpartum women without exercise experience (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: More pregnancy-related nutrition education should be provided and various and effective nutrition education programs, which not only transfer information but can be practiced in the actual life, should be developed.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cell Phones ; China ; Education ; Female ; Food Habits ; Growth and Development ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Lactation ; Mothers ; Nutritional Status ; Parturition ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Statistics as Topic

This study aimed to assess the dietary quality and food habits in children with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) and to evaluate the relationship between diet quality of children with PDDs and their caregivers' feeding practice and nutritional perceptions. Twenty-one pairs of caregivers and their children with PDD were surveyed. The caregivers completed surveys regarding their children's weight status, food habits, and dietary quality and their food habits, nutritional perceptions, knowledge, and feeding practices. Dietary quality was assessed as mean adequacy ratio, dietary diversity score (DDS), dietary variety score (DVS), and Index of Nutritional Quality (INQ). The children were in the normal ranges of body mass index (BMI) and Röhrer index. Having three times a meal, regular meal time, salty taste of the caregiver were related to those of the children with PDD (β = 0.533, 0.447, and 0.886, respectively; p < 0.05). Child control, food as reward, involvement, pressure, and restriction for the health of the caregiver were positively related to DDS, DVS, and INQ of the children with PDD (p < 0.05). High feeding stress and nutritional knowledge of the caregiver were related to the high BMI of the children with PDD (β = 0.445 and 0.602, respectively; p < 0.05), whereas emotion regulation, encourage balance and variety, and involvement of caregiver were negatively related to BMI (β = −0.426, −0.430, and −0.388, respectively; p < 0.05). In conclusion, food habits of children with PDD were closely related to those of caregiver. To improve nutritional status, more insightful understand will be required by considering their developmental differences in this population.
Body Mass Index ; Caregivers ; Child ; Developmental Disabilities ; Diet ; Feeding Behavior ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Meals ; Nutritional Status ; Nutritive Value ; Reference Values ; Reward

PURPOSE: This study verified the reliability and validity of the Diet Quality Index for Indian children (DQIIC). METHODS: The study sample included 100 school going boys and girls (7–9 years). The dietary behavior of children was studied using a questionnaire and 24-hour dietary recall. The DQIIC comprises 21 items which aimed to assess the diet of Indian children on the basis of variety, adequacy of consumption of dietary components, and moderation in the amount of nutrients that are associated with diseases and dietary habits. The reliability of the DQIIC was assessed using the split half method, Cronbach's alpha, and test retest reliability. Content validity was evaluated using content validity ratio (CVR). RESULTS: The intake of iron was found to be less than the recommended dietary allowances. There was frequent consumption of empty calorie packaged foods and higher than the recommended amount of sodium. Reliability of the DQIIC was 0.85 by split half method and the correlation coefficient for test retest reliability was 0.87. Cronbach's alpha was 0.62 and CVR was 0.85 for this index. Most of the children fell in the moderately healthy category. CONCLUSION: The DQIIC is a reliable and valid tool to assess the diet quality of Indian children between 7–9 years.
Child ; Diet ; Female ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Iron ; Methods ; Nutritional Status ; Recommended Dietary Allowances ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sodium

PURPOSE: To evaluate clinical characteristics of pediatric nontraumaitc chylothorax and to suggest appropriate therapeutic managements. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 22 patients with nontraumatic chylothorax from January 2005 to December 2018 in the Children's Hospital of Seoul National University. We analyze their etiology, treatment, complications and outcome. RESULTS: Of the 22 patients, 16 were diagnosed before 1 year old and 6 after 1 year old. The causes of chylothorax under 1-year-old children were related to congenital factors (n=9), unknown causes (n=5), and high central venous pressure (n=2). The causes of chylothorax over 1-year-old children were related to congenital factors (n=3), unknown causes (n=1), high venous pressure (n=1), and lymphoma (n=1). All patients had dietary modification. Eight of them were cured by dietary modification, but there was no improvement in over 1-year-old children. Medication was added to patients refractory to dietary modification. Four patients with medication were improved and 5 were improved by surgical management. Nutritional, immunological and other complications occurred in many patients. Five death cases were reported. Four patients were under 1 year old and 1 was over 1 year old. The causes of nontraumatic chylothorax in dead patients were high central venous pressure (n=3), congenital (n=1), and unknown (n=1). CONCLUSION: Nontraumatic chylothorax more frequently occurs in under 1-year-old children. The most common cause is congenital factors. Stepwise management is effective in many patients, but specific treatment is needed in some cases. The prognosis is related to the onset of age and underlying diseases.
Central Venous Pressure ; Child ; Chylothorax ; Diet ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Lymphoma ; Medical Records ; Pediatrics ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Seoul ; Venous Pressure

We investigated weight loss effect of personalized diet education in overweight/obese Korean adults. Overweight/obese Korean adults (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 23 kg/m2 or waist circumference [WC] ≥ 90 cm for men, ≥ 85 cm for women) were recruited, and 40 participants who completed the 10-week intervention were finally included in the analyses. At first visit, study participants (small group with individual counseling) were educated for optimal diet by clinical dietitian, and checked for their compliance through telephone/text message every 1–2 week during the intervention. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters and dietary intake were investigated. Body weight, BMI, WC, and body fat mass were significantly reduced in whole participants. Hemoglobin A1c, insulin, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were also significantly decreased after the intervention. Total energy intake (EI) during the intervention was not significantly decreased compared to the baseline value, but the proportions of energy derived from macronutrients were within the ranges recommended by 2015 Dietary Reference Intake for Koreans. Based on actual EI, participants were classified into high-adherence (HA) (prescribed EI ± 25%, n = 29), low-adherence I (LA-I) (< 75% of prescribed EI, n = 7), and low-adherence II (LA-II) group (> 125% of prescribed EI, n = 4). Only HA group showed significant improvements in anthropometric parameters, glycemic control and lipid profile. Interestingly, LA-I group showed significant increases in glucose, insulin, C-peptide and insulin resistance. In conclusion, a shift from overweight/obesity to healthy weight can be accomplished by high adherence to personalized diet modification, not by EI reduction.
Adipose Tissue ; Adult ; Body Weight ; C-Peptide ; Cholesterol ; Compliance ; Diet ; Education ; Energy Intake ; Food Habits ; Glucose ; Humans ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Lipoproteins ; Male ; Nutritionists ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Recommended Dietary Allowances ; Waist Circumference ; Weight Loss

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and the level of self-management support on the Metabolic Syndrome Management Program at public health centers in Seoul metropolitan city. METHODS: The effectiveness on the Metabolic Syndrome Management Program were analyzed using secondary data from 1,312 community residents who were receiving program. The level of self-management support on Metabolic Syndrome Management Program was evaluated using an ‘Assessment of Primary Care Resources and Supports for Chronic Disease Self-Management’ from four public health centers. RESULTS: The effectiveness on the Metabolic Syndrome Management Program was showed that decreased smoking (p=0.044) and drinking (p<0.001), and increased healthy dietary habit (p<0.001) in health behaviors. It was showed that decreased triglyceride (p=0.002) and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p<0.001) in clinical indicators. The level of self-management support on Metabolic Syndrome Management Program was 98.1 points and it meaned that implementation is done in an organized and consistent manner using a team approach. There was difference in the level of self-management support by public health centers (p=0.003). CONCLUSION: The Metabolic Syndrome Management Program in public health centers was effective, and level of self-management support was done as organizational level, but patient input and mental health were insufficient.
Cholesterol ; Chronic Disease ; Drinking ; Food Habits ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Lipoproteins ; Mental Health ; Primary Health Care ; Public Health ; Self Care ; Seoul ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Triglycerides

PURPOSE: To understand awareness, attitude and knowledge levels of muscle health of adults over 18 years old. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional study using questionnaires. A total of 401 questionnaires were included for final analysis. Mean and standard deviation of the continuous variables were analyzed and frequency analysis of categorical variables was performed. To identify differences according to general characteristics, t-test was used. RESULTS: Awareness scores about the importance of muscle health and exercises were 8.3 and 13.0, respectively. Attitude score and knowledge score were 12.4 and 15.0, respectively. There were differences in attitude toward muscle health according to gender, age, physical activity, and diet habits. However, there was no difference in attitude toward muscle health according to educational level, smoking, drinking, or sleeping. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to seek a strategy to improve awareness and attitude toward muscle health based on knowledge, not merely to raise knowledge level about muscle health. Since nurses play a central role in health promotion and disease prevention, they should also play an important role in strategic development and application of intervention.
Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Drinking ; Exercise ; Food Habits ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Motor Activity ; Muscles ; Smoke ; Smoking

PURPOSE: This study examined the prevalence of food allergies and allergenic factors in a selected sample of children living in Seoul, Korea, along with their dietary habits, environmental factors, and diseases as risk factors for food allergy. The results of this study will provide basic data for addressing food allergies.METHODS: We selected 3,004 pre-school and school-age children, aged 0 ~ 12, in the 25 districts of Seoul as the study sample. Structured self-report questionnaires were administered over a two-month period in July-August 2018, and the children's parents recorded the answers on their children's behalf. The research tools in this study included the Korean version of the questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC).RESULTS: The physician-diagnosed prevalence rate of food allergies was 14.2%, while 20.4% of the children experienced allergic symptoms at least once and 17.4% reported symptoms within the previous 12 months. The children's symptoms included skin problems (88.1%), gastrointestinal issues (19.2%), oral issues (16.7%), respiratory issues (12.7%), and systemic issues (1.3%). The causes of allergies included eggs, peaches, milk, peanuts, and shrimps. The factors influencing the experience of food allergies were the consumption of cereal (aOR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.09 ~ 2.10; p = 0.013), potatoes (aOR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.33 ~ 2.65; p < 0.001), and fast food (aOR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.10 ~ 2.72; p = 0.017). Having food allergy symptoms was associated with a higher risk of experiencing asthma (aOR, 4.22 95% CI, 3.10 ~ 5.76; p < 0.001), allergic rhinitis (aOR, 2.53; 95% CI, 2.03 ~ 3.15; p < 0.001), and atopic dermatitis symptoms (aOR, 3.56; 95% CI, 2.88 ~ 4.40; p < 0.001).CONCLUSION: Episodes of food allergies warrant examining regular food consumption and placing dietary restrictions through early diagnosis as these episodes may imply the presence of other allergies. Our findings offer basic insights into the patterns, prevalence and symptoms of children's food allergies in Seoul, and our findings will contribute to identifying effective interventions for food allergies.
Arachis ; Asthma ; Child ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Early Diagnosis ; Edible Grain ; Eggs ; Fast Foods ; Food Habits ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Korea ; Milk ; Ovum ; Parents ; Prevalence ; Prunus persica ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Skin ; Solanum tuberosum