This study examined the dietary habits and nutrition quotient (NQ) scores according to leftover food during school meal services among middle school students in the Gyeonggi region. A survey on the dietary habits was conducted among 405 male and female middle school students located in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province. The amount of leftover food in the school meals was surveyed using the visual method through a questionnaire over two days. The survey was conducted from July 8, 2019, to July 12, 2019. After calculating the average total leftovers of each student over the two days, they were categorized into the following three groups: the top third was the large leftover group. The middle third was the medium leftover group, and the lower third was the small leftover group. The characteristics of the groups that had leftovers were analyzed. Female, normal-weight, and underweight students accounted for a greater proportion of the large leftover group than male, overweight, and obese students. The rates of selective eating and compliance with new food intake were significantly lower in the large leftover group than in the small leftover group. A comparison of the nutrition quotient for the adolescent (NQ-A) scores of each group revealed significantly lower scores of the large leftover group for all factors (balance, moderation, food diversity, practice, and environment) than the small leftover group. Therefore, there are statistically significant differences in the dietary habits, nutritional quality, and eating behaviors of middle school students that are associated with the amount of leftover food during school meals.

This study examined the background of the dietary life of North Korean defector adolescents born and raised in North Korea and their new South Korean dietary experiences after being settled in South Korea. The study included six North Korean defector adolescents enrolled in an alternative school located in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. This study’s qualitative research methodology included two-by-two group interviews, followed by individual interviews and field observation. The study period was from September 14 to October 26, 2019. Before entering South Korea, they primarily ate food pickled with soybean and salt, a cooking method by which foods are preserved because refrigerators were unavailable. After settling in South Korea, they had difficulty adapting to South Korean foods because of the unfamiliar ingredients and recipes. On the other hand, they quickly adapted to some foods, such as chicken. The participants reported that North Korean foods are generally light, whereas South Korean foods are sweet, salty, and spicy; hence, they do not taste delicious. The results suggest that attention be paid to menu improvement and the provision of nutritional education by schools and the government to prevent undernourishment or malnourishment because of unfamiliar ingredients and recipes.

Dietary components can modulate stress, inflammatory indicators, and health risk. This study examined the relationship among diet, metabolic disease risk, and perceived stress in Korean adult females using the 2017-2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A total of 4,353 adult women aged 19-64 years were classified into four groups according to perceived stress level: very high stress group (VHSG, n=225), high stress group (HSG, n=1,079), moderate stress group (MSG, n=2,532), and low stress group (LSG, n=517). Data collection included the sociodemographics, anthropometrics, blood profile, and dietary survey. After adjusting for covariates, those in the VHSG had a higher body mass index (p=0.013) and obesity rate (p=0.053) with a shorter sleep time than the LSG group. The VHSG also tended to have a higher plasma LDL-cholesterol, hsC-reactive protein and lower levels of HDL-cholesterol, vitamin A, and vitamin E than the low stress group. High stress subjects demonstrated increased breakfast skipping frequency (p<0.0001), decreased fiber intake (p=0.001), potassium (p=0.041), and vitamin A (p=0.011) than the low stress ones. Therefore the perceived stress level was associated with the inflammatory indicators, obesity, and lack of anti-inflammatory or antioxidant nutrients. The dietary components may be an important mediator of stress and metabolic disease.

This study aimed to investigate the dietary guidelines from the dietitians and parents’ perceptions in kindergarten. The survey was carried out by 39 dietitians and 320 parents in kindergarten of Sejong city from April 18 to May 14, 2019. Approximately, 48.6% of dietitians responded that the amount of food provided was adjusted according to the age and weight of the infant. Both dietitians and parents responded the most to ‘to build the right eating habits’ as the reason for dietary guidance. As a guiding method for infants who sneaked unpleasant food, 62.9% of dietitians responded ‘teach them about the wrong behavior on the spot’, and 63.7% of parents stated ‘talk about wrong behavior later’. The necessity of linking the dietary guidance between kindergarten and the family was recognized by dietitians and parents. The most important content for the linkage of the dietary guidance was ‘correct eating manners and attitude’. The biggest problem in the dietitian's dietary guidance was the guidance on an unbalanced diet. Our results indicated differences in the dietary guidance contents of dietitians’ and parents’ perception of importance. Apparently, it is considered essential to link kindergarten with the family to provide correct and effective guidance for children.

This study analyzed the health characteristics and comorbidity of adult men aged 40 years by dividing them into a control group of those without any disease related to fine dust and a patient group with one or more diseases related to fine dust in areas with high levels of fine dust pollution using the sixth and seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013-2017). Among the general characteristics, the mean age of the patient group was significantly older than that of the control group (p<0.001), and in terms of the health-related characteristics, the frequency of breakfast consumption in the patient group was higher than in the control group (p<0.043). The body measurements were similar in the patient and control groups. Regarding the prevalence of comorbidity, the patient group showed a higher prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and diabetes than the control group, but the differences were not statistically significant. On the other hand, the prevalence of other cancers (except stomach cancer, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and cervical cancer) in the patient group was higher than in the control group (p<0.05). In terms of the clinical characteristics, the glycated hemoglobin levels in the patient group were significantly higher than in the control group (p<0.048). Information on nutrition and health in areas with frequent occurrences of fine dust was obtained through the study results, which can be used as basic data for measures of health and diet management against diseases that will increase in relation to fine dust.

This study was conducted to investigate dietary adaptations and use of university foodservice in Korea according to the religion of international students. The survey was conducted from April to June in 2017 and included 609 subjects studying at a university in Busan. Muslims showed the highest percentage of eating three meals per day (42.4%) but the highest rate of eating unbalanced meals (64.7%) and midnight meals (41.8%). The most frequent problematic eating habit among Buddhists was irregular mealtimes (46.0%). Adaptation frequency to Korean diet was lowest among Muslims and highest among Christians. Securing halal foods was difficult for Muslims in Korea, and demand for halal foods as a school restaurant menu was high. The response rate for experiencing Korean food at university foodservice was highest among Christians (79.7%) and lowest among Muslims (45.3%). The main reason for not using university foodservice for Muslims was “no menu to eat” for religious reasons, and other religious groups cited “lack of menu variety.” Preferred types and recipes of meats, fish, and vegetables also showed significant differences according to religion. As a result, efforts should be made to increase adaptation to life abroad in Korea, including changes in university foodservice management, considering the religious characteristics of international students.

This study was a qualitative investigation into hemodialysis patients' dietary practices. The purpose of this study was to explore the obstacles and requirements to maintain a recommended diet therapy in hemodialysis patients. Five patients undergoing hemodialysis in the renal chamber of the general hospital were interviewed individually. The interviews were based on an interview guide and analyzed by Giorgi’s method of analysis. As a result of this study, five elemental factors and 12 subelemental factors were derived. Derived elements were “difficulty in dietary guidelines”, “recognizing necessity of diet therapy”, “awareness of importance of diet”, “difficulty practicing diet therapy”, and “looking for ways to practice diet therapy”. Patients not only felt difficulties in practicing dietary guidelines but also recognized the need and importance of diet therapy. Patients seemed to have difficulty practicing meal therapy and eating with their families or others. They were also stressed by the limited selection of dietary components and rapid dietary changes before and after dialysis. However, patients showed a willingness to implement dietary management to improve their quality of life and to practice dietary therapy. In order to improve the practice of dietary management in hemodialysis patients, nutritional education should be focused on long-term dietary habits through continuous education and monitoring, not just one-off education. Moreover, patients should be educated that adherence to dietary control may be less burdensome on their families.

This study analyzed the dietary behaviors and adaptation for Korean foods among Central Asian workers(Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan) living in South Korea to provide basic and fundamental data that allows Central Asian workers to have desirable eating habits while living in South Korea. Questionnaires were completed by 186 Central Asian workers living in South Korea. From this study, we found that 56.8% of respondents ate three meals a day, and 27.2% of respondents ate two meals a day. 29.7% of respondents had no snacks. For adapting Korean food, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan workers had difficulties adapting spicy and salty flavors and unpleasant smell while Kazakhstan workers had difficulties due to sweet flavors and spicy and salty flavors. Men adapted better than women to adapt Korean food. Women respondents ate Korean food more often than men. And the Uzbekistan ratio of eating homeland food daily was the highest. By providing understanding of dietary patterns of Central Asian workers, these results can be used as the basic and fundamental data for their Korean food adaptation.

This study examined the nutritional status and dietary behaviors of university students in Gangwon-do as well as the effects of dietary education on them. Forty college students were recruited, and their dietary lifestyle was examined using an Adult NQ questionnaire before and after dietary education. The questionnaire items were grouped into four categories: balance, diversity, moderation, and dietary behavior. The mean NQ score out of 100 was 48.00. Among the three grades of the NQ grade criteria, most subjects (50%) were in the lowest grade, which was poor. The mean scores of the NQ factors were highest for moderation (68.76%), followed in order by diversity (50.81%), dietary behavior (45.66%), and balance (21.01%). Compared to the criterion value, moderation was only good, and balance was the worst. These results suggest that the nutritional status of the subjects is poor. On the other hand, there was a significant change in the areas of the NQ score (53.7), balance (29.22) and dietary behavior (56.77) after dietary education. Nevertheless, the ‘balance’ area remained lower than the average, highlighting the need for education on food intake to enable diverse food intake.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has conducted the Dietary Education Projects at Childcare Centers since 2015. This study provides preliminary data for early childhood dietary education programs, by evaluating the outcomes of the projects. This survey enrolled 212 participants whose children had participated in the projects, and 142 non-participants. Comparing the perception of importance towards each educational program of the projects, dietary education program gained significantly higher importance than other subjects included, and was significantly higher in the participants than in non-participants. In the preference for food group survey for children, vegetable and seaweed preferences were higher among participants than non-participants, indicating that participation in the dietary education projects contribute towards increase in preferences for vegetables and seaweed, which children generally dislike. No significant differences were observed in children’s dietary habits between participant and non-participant groups, thereby suggesting that the education projects were insufficient for inducing dietary habit changes. In order to accomplish effective improvement of dietary habits, the education projects need further improvements to achieve systematic and long-term plans.