The purpose of this study was to investigate improvement of food habits and eating behavior in children with obesity andprecocious puberty by nutritional education monitoring. The results are as follows. Average height and weight of subjectsexceeded Korean height and weight standards for children as outlined by The Korea Pediatric Society. Using nutritioneducation monitoring, meals became more regular, overeating significantly decreased, and eating speed decreased. Further,frequencies of eating-out and night-eating significantly decreased. The most preferred menu item when eating-out wasKorean food, and the most preferred menu item for night-eating was fruits, fast food, & processed food. Meat & fish andvegetable intakes all significantly increased. Fruit and milk intakes also significantly increased while bread, snack, and icecream intakes decreased. Further, fast food & instant food intakes decreased. However, water intake was not significantlyaffected. The favorite food of children was meat & fish, followed by fast food & processed food. This study may provideinformation on dietary behavior of children with obesity and precocious puberty and suggests that nutrition education orcounseling can improve food habits and eating behavior.

To study the importance of family meals in adolescents, 251 middle school students were surveyed through a questionnaire on their family meal patterns, dietary behaviors, food intake, and life satisfaction. The family meals were defined as "meals with all family members living together" by 62.2% of the students. For the frequency of family meals, 42.2% of the students replied having family meals "More than once a day". A common reason for the difficulty in having a family meal was a "lack of time" (73.3% of the students). Students tended to respond that they would be most fond in having meals with entire family members with traditional Korean food. Having more frequent family meals was found to benefit both individual and familial dietary behavior. In terms of food intake according to the frequency of family meals, the group having frequent family meals consumed significantly more rice, tofu, legumes, meats, fishes, eggs, green vegetables, seaweeds, fruits, milk, and milk products. This indicates that students can achieve a balanced diet through family meals. In terms of emotional status, the group having more frequent family meals showed a higher satisfaction with their daily life, health, nutritional status, and care from their relatives. In terms of personal mental status, the group having more frequent family meals was also found to be more effective at controlling undesirable emotions such as loneliness, indignation, and lethargy. As a result of this study, students in the group having more frequent family meals were found to have a positive dietary behavior, a balanced nutrition, a higher life satisfaction, and a more stable mental status. This result is useful as nutritional and educational information in schools to impress upon the public the importance of family meals for adolescents.

We surveyed 553 middle school students living in Incheon using questionnaires to compare their food behaviors and snack intake patterns according to weight groups based on BMI. Mean BMI was 20.3 for males and 19.6 for females. The rate of underweight, normalweight and overweight students was 33.3, 51.7, and 15.0%, respectively. Compared to the other two groups, the overweight students perceived their body shape more accurately (p<0.01). Regarding the reasons for skipping dinner, the most frequent answer by the underweight students was 'because of snacks', while that of the overweight students was 'to lose weight' (p<0.01). The normalweight students were found to eat a Korean traditional type breakfast more frequently than the other weight groups (p<0.05). The overweight female group was more likely to overeathabitually, whereas the normalweight and underweight groups tended to overeat when they were under stress (p<0.05). As for the amount of the snack intake, the overweight male students replied that they eat quite a lot of snacks. As a conclusion, the problems found in the underweight group were unbalanced diet and the disturbance of regular meal patterns due to inappropriate snack intake. The problems shown in the overweight group were overeating due to habit or stress, fast eating speed and large amount of snack intake.

In this study, the relationships among obesity, food behavior, and personality traits were studied in male and female elementary school children. The obesity rates were calculated via the measured heights and weights of the subjects. Food behavior was surveyed via a questionnaire. Personality traits were evaluated using an authorized personality test. The obesity rates in the child subjects in this study were 34.1%in the male children, and 28.7% in the female children, and the rates of underweight were 18.2% in the males and 28.7% in the females. The percentage of obese children was slightly higher in the male population than in the female population. With regard to food behavior, the females evidenced significantly higher points than the males, particularly on the items designated 'slow eating' and 'stop eating upon satiety'. Among the personality traits assessed herein, which included emotional stability, general activity, sociability, masculinity, responsibility, reflectiveness, and superiority, the females evidenced significantly higher sociability scores than the males. The personality traits did not appear to be significantly associated with the obesity rate. However, the obese children scored lowest on all personality traits among the three groups. In terms of the relationship between food behavior and personality traits, children with high stability, sociability, responsibility, and superiority also had significantly higher food behavior scores. These results imply that the maintenance of good food behavior may enhance stability, sociability, responsibility, and superiority in children.

The purpose of the study w3s to investigate the consumption pattern of the Korean traditional foods of the elementary schoolchildren living in urban and rural area. For the investigation, 373 fifth-grade elementary schoolchildren in Incheon and Gangwhado were surveyed by a questionnaire and the data were analyzed by the SPSS 10.0 program. As for the frequency to take the Korean traditional foods, bab and kimchi are taken almost everyday, and gug, jjigae, jorim, gui, namul are taken frequently. And juk, jeongol, jeon, sanjeog, jutgal, hangwa and umryo were shown to be taken occasionally. There were statistical differences in the frequencies of the Korean traditional food consumption by the residence and the gender. The students in urban area take hinbab, jabgokbab, hobakjuk deonjanggug, sangsunjorim, jangiorim more frequently than the students in rural area. The students in rural area take mandu, kuksoo, yeongunjorim and kongiorim more frequently than the students in urban area Female students take sangsunjorim, jangiorim, sangsungui, bulgogi, sangsunjeon, hobakjeon, sukchae, jutgal and oiji more frequently than male students. Most of the schoolchildren answered that in the future they would like to take the traditional foods more frequently than now. There was statistical difference by the gender. As for the food such as bibimbab, gug, jjigae, jeon, namul and jang-aji, female students responded to take more frequently than male students. The 39.1% of them responded that the taste is the point to be most improved in the future. But there was no statistical difference by gender and the residence In order to make the taste of traditional food more attractive to modem people, the 37.8% of them replied it does not need to change the traditional preparation method. However, similar percentage of the schoolchildren(35.7%) answered it is needed to change partly the traditional preparation method. As for the effect of traditional foods on health, the 68.4% of schoolchildren thought that the our traditional foods are healthier than western foods.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the perception and the knowledge of the Korean traditional foods in elementary school students. For the investigation, 373 fifth-grade elementary school students in Incheon were surveyed by a questionnaire, and the data were analized by the SPSS 10.0 program. The result showed that 85% of the surveyed schoolchildren showed the interest in the Korean traditional foods. It also revealed that female students are more interested in the traditional food than male students and the children of the career woman are more interested than those of the housewives. As for the motive of their interest, 39.7% of the subjects answered 'through mass media'. Male students and the children of the housewives got the interest through their mother, and female students and the children of the career woman got the interest through their hobby of cooking food. Among the traditional foods, 76.4% of the children designated kimchi as the most proud traditional food. As for the reasons of reducing traditional food use, 39.9% of students responded because of 'not-tasty' and 28.7% of students replied because of 'not enough time to cook'. But 62.2% of the subjects thought the traditional foods should be more used in the future. As for the succession and development of the traditional foods, 33.8% of the subjects said it should be carried out by the family. The basic knowledge score of the traditional foods was 5.78 on a scale of 10, which showed relatively low level. The lower their basic knowledge, the less their interest in the traditional foods was. The samgyetang, ogokbap and bindaetteok were the most perceived traditional foods. The cheonggukjang, nabakgimchi and jindallaehwajeon were the foods they had seen, but the they didnot have heard or seen the others. Among the traditional foods, susugyeongdan, jindallaehwajeon and dasik were more perceived by the schoolchildren in the rural area than those in the urban area. The jindallaehwajeon and dasik were more perceived by female students than by male students. Therefore, in order to make elementary schoolchildren take the traditional foods with pride by increasing their perception and knowledge of them, the family should give them many opportunities to eat traditional foods. The school also should try to establish a cooperative relationship to the family of schoolchilderen and use more Korean traditional foods in the school's meal program. Furthermore, the society's concern and support are necessary and also the role of mass media, which have great influence on children, is important.

The purpose of the study was to compare the satisfaction level on hospital meal size and actual intake rate of hospital foods between elderly and middle aged patients. Sixty one middle aged and one hundered thirty two elderly patients were surveyed on the foods served in the hospital-rice, soup, meat/fish, vegetable, kimchi and daily products. Compared to the middle aged patients, the more elderly thought the serving size of rice was too big(p<0.05), and those of soup, meat/fish and kimchi tended to be too big. There was no difference in the satisfaction level on the serving size of vegetable dish between two age groups. In actual intake rates of hospital meal there were no significant differences between the elderly and middle aged patients. However, the elderly male ate significantly(p<0.05) less amount of rice than the middle aged male and the elderly female ate significantly(p<0.01) less amount of meat/fish then the middle aged female. Satisfaction levels and actual intake rates were significantly correlated in all food items.

Food habit, eating-out pattern, smoking and drinking habits of 814 elderly (aged over 60) living in Incheon were surveyed by questionnaire. The ratio of the elderly who have balanced meals at moderate amount was slightly higher in urban area. Urban elderly tended to have mild foods, while rural elderly preferred hot and salty foods. Score for food habit was higher in urban elderly and there was no difference between male and female elderly. Most urban elderly had their meal at the public facilities for elderly, while most rural elderly used general restaurant and public room for elderly. Korean foods were the most favorite menu when ate out. Ratio of elderly who have difficulties in chewing was 21.2 and 39.6% for urban and rural elderly, respectively. Many elderly, especially more than 70% of female elderly, prepared the meals for themselves. Rural elderly smoked and drank more than urban elderly and male elderly did more than female elderly.

Preferences of 814 elderly living in Incheon for dishes, food materials and cooking methods were investigated. The survey was conducted from Dec. 2000 to Jan. 2001 by questionnaires. Subjects preferred cooked rice with beans, kalkooksoo(hot noodle), gomtang(soup with beef), bibimbap(rice with assorted mixture) to other staple dishes. However, preference for hashed rice or curried rice was very low. More than 50% of the subjects liked soybean paste soup and stew, and the ratio of elderly who liked Chinese cabbage kimchi was 68.7%. There was no significant difference in preference for pan-fried foods according to food materials in them. Subjects liked injolmi(waxy rice cake), shikhye(fermented rice drink) and coffee the most. Most subjects preferred plant foods like vegetables, legumes and seaweeds to animal foods. Preference of elderly for milk and yoghurt was reatively high; however, that for ham, butter and cheese was low. Elderly in Incheon liked roasted beef, beef soup and roasted pork the most. Chicken was preferred when it was boiled in water with garlic, ginseng, and so on. Cooked and seasoned vegetables (Namul) were the most preferred type by elderly. Preferences for dishes and food materials were more affected by living places of the subjects than by sex, and the reverse was true in preference for cooking method of food materials.

This study was designed to investigate nutrition intakes and its relation to the obesity and the prevalence of anemia in 252 children(136 boys, 116 girls) aged 2~6 years. The hematological parameters, daily nutrient intakes and height and weight were measured. Calorie intakes of 2 and 3year-old-children were over their RDA while those of 4-6 years were below the RDA. Intakes of protein, P, and vit B complex were far over the RDA in all ages of children. Fe and vit A intakes were insufficient in all ages except 3 years while Ca intakes were insufficient in all ages except 2 and 3 years. About 18.2% of the children were evaluated as obese. However, very few children were anemic by hematologic parameters. The mean Hb concentrations were 12.2mg/dl in boys and also in girls. The mean Hct was 36.2% in boys, 35.8% in girls. Serum Fe concentration was 100.1mg/dl in boys, 101.1mg/dl in girls. RBC count was significantly higher in boys while MCH was significantly higher in girls. Intakes of protein, P, Fe, vit B1, niacin, vit C were significantly higher in obese group compared to under weight group. There were significant positive correlations between protein intake and Hb, Hct, MCH, and MCHC. The correlation between Fe intake and Hb or Hct was not significant. In conclusion, it seems that the nutritional status of the most children was in very good condition. However, they needed to take more foods supplying Fe, Ca, and vit A.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the satisfaction level on hospital foods in elderly and middle aged patients. The subjects were selected among the patients treated in the Inha University hospital during July of 1999. One hundred thirty five elderly patients aged over sixty(68 men, 67 women) and sixty five patients aged in forties(35 men, 30 women) were surveyed through questionnaires in terms of satisfaction level on hospital foods and the food preferences. Satisfaction on general taste, saltiness, serving temperature, appearance, texture and variety of hospital foods was not significantly different according to age. However, elderly men showed significantly higher satisfaction level than elderly women in terms of general taste of hospital foods(p<0.01). The preferences of cooking method for meat, fish, vegetable and the preferred kinds of kimchi and milk & milk products were not significantly different between the two age groups. However, elderly women significantly preferred sauted meat to broiled meat compared to elderly men(p<0.05).

To compare actual obesity rate and self-evaluated body shape, 651 women living in Inchon were participated in the measurement of anthropometric indices and in the survey by questionnaire. Mean RBW and BMI were in normal range except the girl in 13-15 years. RBW and BMI of the women in 40s and 50s were significantly higher than those in women in younger ages(p<0.001). Triceps skinfold thickness of the subjects were not significantly different. Significantly low DRBW in teenagers and women in 20s showed that their desire to reduce body weight were very strong. Over the half of the subjects thought they were too heavy and unsatisfied at their body shapes. The parts of the body desired to remove extra fat were the waist & abdomen in women over 30s and the thigh & legs in teenagers. It is thought that women, especially in 10s and 20s need the education about the appropriate evaluation of body shape and also need the nutrition education about the deteriorated influence of underweight on health.

This study was designed to evaluate food habits, anthropometry and obesity of 252 children(136 boys, 116 girls) aged 2~6 years old. The anthropometric indices were measured and food habits were surveyed. Average food habit score was 11.7/20.0 in boys and 11.8/20.0 in girls. It was found that 60.3% of the subjects belonged to fair score group(7-13) in food habits, while subjects in poor (0-6) and in excellent (14-20) were 30.6% and 9.1% respectively. There was no significant difference in food habits score between boys and girls. The food habits score tended to be higher as the mother's education level, total family income, number of siblings were increased. The mean height, weight and chest circumference of the subjects were much higher than the Korean standards. Evaluating the obesity by weight for height, 77.8% subjects was normal, 4.0% was underweight and 18.3% was obese. Underweight children did not seem to enjoy their meals and ate too slowly compared to normal or obese children. Therefore they needed to promote food habits by good nutritional education.

The health, anthropometry, food habits, food intake frequency and nutrition intake of 747(219 men and 528 women) elderly people living in Inchon were investigated. Mean BMI, WHR, triceps skinfold thickness, BIA, blood pressure of the subjects were 23.4, 1.0, 15.6mm, 28.6%, 137.5/78.8mmHg in men and 24.9, 0.87, 22.6mm, 36.2%, 130.8/73.8mmHg in women respectively. Over the half of the subjects perceived themselves unhealthy and 86.2% of the elderly suffered from one or more illness. Ratios of the smoking and the drinking elderly were 40%, 43% in men and 12%, 11% in women. The major reason to stop smoking or drinking was the concern about their health. Food habit score of the subjects was relatively high (14.45/18.0) but food intake frequency score were relatively low (21.18/33.0) except the food groups of cereal & grain, white vegetable and sweets. The foods consumed by the elderly were very limited in quality and also in quantity. The daily intakes of calorie, protein, iron, vit. B1, niacin and vit. C were less than 2/3 of RDA and the amounts of calcium, vit. A and vit. B2 consumption were less than 1/2 of RDA.

The status of general food service administration and nutrition education was investigated in 111 elementary schools located in Inchon Metropolitan Area by questionnaires. The results are as follows ; 1. Most schools served 5 lunches per week. Meal cost per capita was 1212.1 won in urban type school and 979.0 won in rural type school. Most schools(91.9%) had 1 regular dietitian and 1 regular cook. With increasing number of students the number of temporary employees increased significantly. Most school dietitians(86.5%) were in their twenties and had 2 year careers. 2. Most dietitians(90.1%) planned the menu based on the RDA with the first consideration in nutritional needs of the students. Many dietitians(81.8%) surveyed on the food preferences of the students at least once a year. About 86% of the schools had the food service committee which was helpful. Dietitians were the first one in charge of food purchasing and checking, and sometimes a manager in general school affairs worked together. One third of the schools used the volunteer parents in food services. 3. Most school dietitians(97.2%) gave the students nutrition education using handouts once a week. However, they could not teach the students through the classroom lecture because they are not the regular teachers. Food garbages were removed by the professional trash collecting company or by using fermentation machines or by giving them to animals as feeds. School events concerning the food and nutrition were mostly drawing pictures and composition. Only 36.4% of the school dietitians had experienced in nutrition counseling for an individual student. Most of them(99.1%) thought that individual counseling is necessary if they have enough time and chances to do.

Perception and knowledge on the diet among 651 women living in Inchon were surveyed by questionnaires in March through May, 1998. Respondents consisted of middle school girls(12.3%), high school girls(16.4%), and women in twenties(16.4%), thirties(18.9%), forties(15.7%) and fifties and over(20.3%). Ratio of high school graduates was the highest(37.0%) among respondents, and there was a tendency of less education with ages. Seventy-six percent of women practised the diet for the self-satisfaction of a nice figure, 20% for healing diseases, and 3.4% for attracting boy friends' or husbands' attention. The purpose of the diet was significantly different with ages(p<0.01). The diet methods which the respondents perceived effective and wanted to practise were exercise and food therapy. Average score of the knowledge on the diet was 8.27 out of 10, and significantly different with ages and education(p<0.05). Twenties showed the highest score and high school girls, thirties, middle school girls, forties and fifties and over were followed in decreasing order. Also the score was in decreasing order of graduates of college, high, elementary and middle school.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the patterns of Korean traditional food use in the households of middle aged women living in Kyunggido and Incheon area Four hundred eighty seven housewives whose children were in middle school answered the questionnaire about Korean traditional food use patterns in ordinary days, national festive days and in private celebration or memorial days. Most households have used Korean traditional table setting called Bansang as daily meals(96.7%) and have used home-made Kimchi(97.3%). However, the use of home-made Jang such as soy sauce, soybean paste and red pepper soybean paste was not very high(64.3%). Most households have celebrated New Years day(99.6%) with Ddukguk and Manduguk, Chusuk(95.1%) with Songpyun, and fruits, Full-Moon day(95.1%) with Ogokbap, Namul and Brum. Dongji was celebrated with Patjug by 73.3% of households. However, Samjitnal and Danho were celebrated with Whajeon and Ssukjulpyun by only 18.9% and 43.8% of the households respectively. The households using Korean traditional food to celebrate the birthday, the 1st birthday of child, the wedding or to memorize the passing day of ancestors were 96.0%, 80.7%, 81.3% and 86.7% respectively. Compared to households of urban and nuclear family, households of rural and extended family tended to use significantly more Korean traditional foods in many occasions and showed significantly higher rate of using home-made Kimchi and Jang.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the understanding, the perception, and the preference of Korean traditional food in 487 middle school boys and girls living in urban and rural areas. The students got 6.66/10 points in the knowledge about Korean traditional food. The girl and the student from nuclear families got significantly higher scores than the boy and the student from extended families respectively. Most of the students(95%) responded that Korean traditional food must be in succession and be developed because it suits Korean tradition of our own and our tastes. However, Korean traditional food must be improved in cooking process to more convenient way and in tastes. Especially students in urban area emphasized cooking process, and students in rural area emphasized tastes. Many students(80%) answered that the households may play the most important role in succeeding and developing Korean traditional food. Most of students(82.5%) thought that the Korean traditional food needs to be made fast food because they need to take it more easily. However, hygiene, taste and nutrition have to be considered. Pulgogi, Mandoo, Rice, Ddeokgook, Chabchae are highly preferred foods while Torantang, Mookuen-Namool, Jutgal, Jeonyoouh are poorly preferred. Some students had never tasted Shinseonro, Goocheolpan, Torantang, Chokpyun and Pyunyook.