Food is essential for sustenance and reflects a country’s identity, making it crucial to identify the cultural needs for effectively localizing Korean food. This study surveyed 825 adults from four continents (eight countries) to examine their preferences, familiarity, and attitudes toward Korean food. Significant correlations(p< .001) were found between the familiarity and preference for Korean food, with variations observed across continents. Among the representative Korean food items, the average preference score was 4.67, and the purchase/recommendation intention score was 4.88. Seven items received above-average ratings (e.g., gogi-deopbap and kimchi-bokkeumbap), while some items showed high liking but low purchase/recommendation intention (e.g. dak-jjim and galbi-jjim). In addition, items such as gimbap and tteokbokki had high purchase/recommendation intention but low liking, and kimchi and vegetable foods etc. received low liking and purchase/recommendation intentions. In terms of the preferred meat according to the cooking method and seasoning, beef respondents preferred grilled · stir-fried and soup·stew·hot pot cooking methods, while pork or chicken respondents preferred grilled · stir-fried and frying methods. Soy sauce was the most preferred seasoning for all meat responses, followed by red pepper paste. These research findings provide fundamental data for developing Korean food products, segmented by continent.
A checklist of dietary behavior items for the elderly was developed based on Korean dietary guidelines. First, a literature review was conducted, and 63 preliminary items, including 30 items on food intake, 12 on eating habits, and 21 on dietary culture, were obtained to evaluate the dietary guidelines. The preliminary items were evaluated by experts using Lawshe’s method to verify the content validity. They were then revised, resulting in 52 items: 25, 11, and 16 in the food intake, eating habits, and dietary culture domains, respectively. A face-to-face survey was conducted on 331 people over 65 years of age in the metropolitan area, and their one-day food intake was surveyed using a 24-hour recall method in August 2022. The 48 items, including 24, 11, and 13 items on food intake, eating habits, and dietary culture, respectively, correlated significantly with the evaluation indicators of nutrient intake, such as mean adequacy ratio, dietary diversity score, and nutrient intake density. These items were considered suitable for evaluating the elderly's compliance with dietary guidelines.
Consumption market research was conducted on gradually increasing vegetarians using various selection attributes. Factors were extracted to identify vegetarian selection attributes and to divide the study cohort into groups, continuous variables (health, animal welfare, eco-friendliness, religion, familiarity, convenience, stability, and cost) and categorical variables (age, marital status, vegetarian duration, and vegetarian frequency) were simultaneously subjected to two-step cluster analysis. Cluster 1 contained high proportions of 20-29 and 30-39 year-olds, which are MZ-generation age groups. A high proportion had a vegetarian duration of 1-3 years, and the popular reasons for vegetarian selection were animal welfare and eco-friendliness. Cluster 2 contained high proportions of 50-59 and 40-49 year-olds, and many in this cluster were married, and mean vegetarian duration was ≥15 years. In addition, significant differences were observed between Clusters 1 and 2 in terms of religion, health, familiarity, cost, stability, and convenience. This study should contribute significantly to predicting vegetarian consumers’ selection decisions and consumption behaviors and provide reliable marketing data for foodservice companies that develop vegetarian foods.
This study investigated relationships between personality types and job satisfaction, and performance among school food service dietitians. An online survey was conducted on 200 school dietitians from March 1 to 31, 2022. Of the personality type factors, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were positively correlated with job satisfaction, whereas neuroticism was negatively correlated. Extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were positively correlated with job performance, whereas neuroticism was negatively correlated. Regression analysis conducted to determine the effects of personality types on job satisfaction revealed conscientiousness predicted satisfaction with items of the job, agreeableness predicted satisfaction with supervisor’s supervision, and extraversion predicted satisfaction with colleagues. On the other hand, neuroticism was a negative predictor of satisfaction with the job, supervisor’s supervision, colleagues, and work environment items. Analysis of the effects of personality types on job performance established that openness was a positive predictor of satisfaction with roles of the organization and team, and of conscientiousness for the job, innovator, and organizational roles. In contrast, neuroticism negatively predicted satisfaction with job role items. Further studies are required to explore these relationships more closely by incorporating other major factors related to personality characteristics, job satisfaction, and job performance of dietitians working in various fields.
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the nutrition quotient and the dietary intake of adolescents. A total of 393 adolescents were surveyed to evaluate their Nutrition Quotient for Korean Adolescents (NQ-A) scores and dietary intake. The average age of the survey subjects was 15 years and the average NQ-A score of the subjects was 49.11±13.35. There was no significant difference in the NQ-A scores according to gender and age. The average dietary diversity score was 3.77±0.85, and it was significantly higher in boys than in girls (p< .05) with the scores of 12-14-year-old students being significantly higher than those aged 15-18 years (p< .01). The results of comparing the percentage of recommended intake or adequate intake and the mean adequacy ratio (MAR) according to the NQ-A grade, showed that the ‘High’ grade had a significantly higher intake percentage of vitamin B1, B12, folate, phosphorus, iron and a significantly higher MAR (p< .05). From a long-term perspective, efforts to improve dietary habits are deemed necessary to meet an individual’s nutritional requirements. Adolescents themselves should develop proper eating behaviors and acquire suitable dietary management skills to enhance their nutritional status, ultimately contributing to an improvement in their quality of life.
This study investigated associations between healthy dietary practices and the odds of prediabetes among Korean adolescents. The data of 1,624 adolescents aged 12 to 18 who participated in the 2017-2021 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed. Healthy dietary practices were defined according to Health Plan 2030 criteria, and prediabetes was defined as a fasting blood glucose level of 100-125 mg/dL. After controlling for confounders, adjusting odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for prediabetes were determined for different healthy dietary practices using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Compared with adolescents who engaged in healthy dietary practices, those who did not had a 1.63-fold (95% CI: 1.12-2.37) higher odds of prediabetes. In addition, adolescents who did not consume ≥500 g of fruit and vegetables daily and those who refrained from reading nutritional fact labels, which are both subindicators of healthy dietary practices, had a 1.66 (95% CI: 1.05-2.62) and 1.58-fold (95% CI: 1.06-2.37) higher odds of prediabetes, respectively, than those who did. Increasing the proportion of adolescents engaging in healthy dietary practices, such as consuming ≥500 g of fruit and vegetables daily and reading nutritional fact labels when selecting food, is imperative.
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory intestinal disease characterized by an imbalance in immune function and the overexpression of inflammatory cytokines and mediators. Vitamin B2, also known as riboflavin (Libof), is an essential water-soluble vitamin with numerous beneficial properties, including antioxidant, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and anti-cancer effects. In this study, we aimed to investigate the protective effects of Libof on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced experimental colitis. The C57BL/6 mice were used as the in vivo model of chronic colitis to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of Libof. RAW 264.7 cells were used for the in vitro investigation of the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects. In vivo, Libof alleviated the DSS-induced disease activity index (DAI), colon length shortening, and colonic pathological damage. In vitro, Libof inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-6 production in RAW 264.7 cells. Moreover, Libof inhibited LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) production and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in RAW 264.7 cells. In conclusion, these findings indicate that Libof shows potential as an agent for the treatment of UC.