The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze dietary self-efficacy and Nutrition Quotient (NQ) according to the degree of food-related content use in university students. From October to November 2022, a total of 332 college students (140 males and 192 females) attending universities in Chungcheongbuk-do were surveyed to collect data on general information, food-related content use level, dietary self-efficacy, and NQ for adults. The average dietary self-efficacy score of the group that did not use food content was 3.08 points, which was significantly higher than the group that watched it sometimes (2.89 points) and the group that watched it often (2.83 points) (p=0.0191). The total NQ score of 48.85 points was the highest among the three groups (p=0.0270). For subjects who responded that they had no experience of eating food at all after using food content, their dietary self-efficacy was 3.03, which was significantly higher than the group with occasional or frequent food consumption experience (p=0.0194). Results of this study can be used as basic data for clarifying the relationship between the use of food-related content and eating habits in university students and for proper eating habits education for university students.

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.

In this study, 294 housewives in Siheung, Gyeonggi-do, were surveyed to evaluate the differences in the recognition and use of nutrition labeling according to age and to present data for nutrition education. The younger the age, the more aware the consumer was of the information on the nutrition label. Housewives who were younger than 60 years were more likely to check the nutrition labels. The lower the age, the higher the reliance on the nutritional labeling content of the food, and the higher the recognition level of nutritional labeling. It was found that the lower the age, the easier it was for the consumer to understand the nutritional labeling. Among housewives in their 30s and younger, 89.5 percent said they believed checking nutrition labels would help their health. In the younger age group knowledge and information on nutrition labeling was acquired from the internet, and in the older age group, knowledge was acquired from television, radio, and newspapers. Research conducted on housewives in other regions in the future could provide more detailed information suitable for the population of each region. This would serve as data for nutrition education on the recognition and use of nutrition labeling for a healthy diet.

국내 소비자들의 식품 영양성분에 대한 관심이 계속적 으로 증가하고 있지만 영양성분과 관련된 식품의 소비자 선호도 분석 연구는 부족한 실정이다. 본 연구는 대국민 정보 서비스인 식품영양성분 데이터베이스 플랫폼에 수집 된 빅데이터의 로그분석을 수행하여 소비자들이 영양학적 측면에서 관심을 가지는 식품에 대한 선호도 결과를 제시 하였다. 수집 기간은 2020년 1월부터 2022년 12월까지의 3개년으로 설정하여 총 2,243,168건의 식품명 검색어가 수 집되었으며, 식품명을 병합하여 품목대표 식품명으로 가 공하였다. 분석도구는 R프로그램을 이용하였으며, 영양정 보를 확인하고자 하는 식품명의 검색 빈도를 전체 기간 및 계절별로 분석하였다. 전체 기간 동안 빈도수 분석 결 과, 한국인이 일반적으로 자주 섭취하는 쌀밥, 닭고기, 달 걀의 빈도수가 가장 높았다. 계절성에 따른 선호도 분석 결과, 봄과 여름에는 대체적으로 국물이 없고 뜨겁지 않 은 음식의 빈도수가 높았으며, 가을과 겨울에는 국물이 있 고 따뜻한 음식의 빈도수가 높았다. 또한, 외식업체에서 계절식품으로 판매하는 냉면, 콩국수 등과 같은 식품의 빈 도수도 계절성을 가지는 것으로 확인되었다. 이러한 결과 는 소비자들이 일반적으로 자주 섭취하는 식품의 영양정 보에 관심을 가지는 패턴을 확인할 수 있었으며, 소비 트 렌드와 간접적인 연관성을 가진다는 점에서 외식업계에서 계절별 마케팅 전략 수립 시 기초 자료로 활용될 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

This study aimed to determine the association between household types and healthy dietary practices among Korean adults. A cross-sectional analysis was performed using nationwide data on 23,488 participants from the 2017-2021 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Based on self-reported data, the participant household types were classified into single- and multi-person households. The adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for healthy dietary practices according to household types were calculated by applying multivariable logistic regression analysis after adjusting for confounders. Of total, 11.21% and 88.79% were single- and multi-person households, respectively. Compared with individuals living in multi-person households, those in single-person households had lower odds of adhering to healthy dietary practices (AOR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.79-0.98) and consuming adequate saturated fatty acids (<7% of energy) (AOR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.69-0.88). In addition, men and individuals aged 65 years living in single-person households exhibited lower odds of consuming adequate saturated fatty acids and 500 g of fruit and vegetables per day than those in multi-person households. Single-person households often find it a challenge to practice a healthy diet. Hence, nutritional policies and educational support that help individuals living alone consume healthier diets are warranted.

Considering that the number of middle-aged single-person households is increasing, this study investigates dietary behaviors, nutrient intake, and mental health according to household type. Data were procured from the 2015-2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Totally, 5,466 participants aged 50-64 years were classified into 2 groups: a household with one member was defined as a single-person household, and households with two or more members were described as multi-person households. Single-person households comprised 10.63% of the total, with a higher average age, and lower income and economic levels than multi-person households. Compared to multiperson households, single-person households had a higher frequency of skipping breakfast, eating alone, and dining out, the moderately and severely food insecure group was more than 5 times, and nutrient intake and dietary quality were poorer. In the fully adjusted model, the odds ratios (ORs) of depressive symptoms were 2.35 times (95% CI: 1.39-3.96), and suicide ideation was 1.95 times (95% CI: 1.35-2.82) in single-person compared to multi-person households. Our results lead us to conclude that poor dietary intake in middle-aged single-person households affects the mental health, and the above factors should be considered when framing the dietary policy.

The foraging behavior of honey bees can be attributed to the nutritional incentives they gain from their activities. Nevertheless, a persistent question has revolved around how the nutritional composition undergoes alterations during the process of converting pollen into bee bread. We embarked on a comprehensive investigation of nutritional shifts, spanning from fresh pollen to bee-pollen, pollen patties, and bee bread. Our research findings unveiled that pollen exhibited notably higher levels of individual amino acids, resulting in significantly elevated overall amino acid content compared to bee-collected pollen. While we provided pollen patty to the honey bee colony, initially, during the first 3 to 7 days, there were no substantial discrepancies in the total amino acid content between bee bread and the pollen patty. Intriguingly, unlike most amino acids, we detected a distinct pattern of higher proline content in bee bread compared to bee-pollen or the pollen patty. This shift in amino acid composition likely stems from the incorporation of nectar and other secretions during the bee bread-making process. Moreover, over a span of approximately 14 days within hive conditions, the amino acid content in bee bread increased. Conversely, in terms of fatty acid contents, they were found to be lower in bee bread than those in the pollen patty, with no significant temporal differences observed. Regarding mineral content, bee bread, in general, contained fewer minerals than bee pollen and pollen patties. In conclusion, the transformation of pollen into bee bread involves dynamic alterations in nutrient contents, influenced by both intrinsic bee-related factors and external factors within the hive environment.

We performed a study to examine the association between diet quality and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Our study included 3,586 women aged 40-64 years who participated in the sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The study subjects were classified into the NAFLD group (n=816) and the normal group (n=2,770) using the hepatic steatosis index. The anthropometric indices, blood profiles, and dietary intake data of the subjects were obtained. The waist circumference, body mass index, and the serum levels of triglycerides, fasting blood sugar, HbA1c, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures were higher in the NAFLD compared to the normal groups (p<0.001, respectively). The intakes of protein (g/kg body weight, p<0.001), potassium (p<0.001), and vitamin A (p=0.006) were significantly lower in the NAFLD group. It was observed that the higher the total Korean Healthy Eating Index score, the lower the risk of NAFLD. A reverse relationship was shown between the NAFLD risk and the intakes of total fruits, total vegetables, vegetables excluding Kimchi and pickled vegetables, meat, fish, eggs and beans. Therefore, it is recommended that middleaged women in Korea increase their intakes of fruits, vegetables, and foods high in protein for the proper management of NAFLD.

This study was conducted to identify the nutrition literacy levels of Korean adults and the associated influencing factors. A total of 770 adults aged 19–64 years participated in online surveys and individual interviews conducted according to age groups from May to October 2021. The results of the evaluation of the nutrition literacy levels showed that the average correct answer rate among the participants was 78.7%. Nutrition literacy levels were found to be high in females, lower age groups, metropolis residents, those with high monthly incomes, and those with a bachelor’s degree or higher. Multiple regression analysis showed that males, higher age groups, and rural area residents had a negative correlation with nutrition literacy compared with that of females, lower age groups, and metropolis residents. A more positive correlation was observed in those with higher monthly incomes and educational degrees. In the future, experts should monitor whether the nutritional information transmitted through various forms of media is correct or incorrect, and specific measures should be taken to enhance nutrition literacy to promote the health and nutrition management of Korean adults.

This study aimed to provide fundamental data that could guide high school students' night eating behavior by investigating habits of their night eating consumption during COVID-19 pandemic (From 2021/5/13 to 5/20). Association between their eating habits and the Nutrition Quotient for Korean Adolescents (NQ-A) were also explored. This study included a total of 604 students, among whom 441 students were identified as night eating consumers. Among all subjects, 30.5% consumed night eating 3~4 times a week, 27.3% consumed 1-2 times a week, and 27.0% did not consume any night eating at all. The high-night eating group had a higher score of total NQ-A than the non-night eating group for both male (p<0.05) and female (p<0.001) students. This was because male students in the high-night eating group reported significantly higher rates of daily dinner consumption compared to non-night eating group. Furthermore, both male (p<0.05) and female (p<0.001) students showed a significant increase in ‘Moderation’. ‘Diversity’ was also significantly increased in female studies (p<0.05) as subcategories of dietary habits according to night eating frequency. These findings highlight the need for practical research to develop nutritional guidelines for night eating that reflect preferences of students while providing adequate nutritional habits.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of nutrition education on dietary knowledge, dietary attitudes, and dietary behavior of elderly by analyzing changes before and after nutrition education. This study was conducted in Seoul from March 2022 to December 2022 for 50 elderly (6 male, 44 female) who participated in nutrition education for 8 weeks at three senior welfare centers (Seodaemun, Seongbuk, Jongno). A total of 35 responses were used in the final analysis. Statistical analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, paired t-test, and Wilcoxon’s signed rank test by age, hypertension, and dislipidemia to find effect of nutrition education on their nutritional knowledge, dietary attitudes, and dietary behavior. Results showed that nutrition education had a significant effect on the elderly. In particular, for those with chronic diseases such as hypertension and dislipidemia, the difference after education was significant, indicating significant changes in dietary habits. This study is expected to provide basic data for the development of a systematic nutrition education program for the elderly in the future.

The labor environment in Korea has changed and problems related to employment types are treated as important issues. Especially, the ratio of irregular workers has not only increased relatively, but the labor conditions in Korea also have worsened in the current years. Studies have reported an association between temporary workers and the prevalence of diseases. However, there is insufficient research on chronic disease and employment types. Methods: The current study examines the prevalence rate of diseases and health behavior by categorizing employment types among Korean adults. Data were obtained from the 2016-2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Totally, the data of 2,366 workers (1,239 regular and 1,127 irregular) were analyzed in the study. The types of employment were classified by a questionnaire querying about working conditions. The results showed that irregular workers earned less than regular workers and had a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension. We propose that if discrimination related to working conditions were relieved, irregular workers would be able to invest more time to exercise and doing check-ups regularly. In addition, individual nutrition consultations considering the knowledge and personal environmental factors of each individual are necessary for the improved health of all workers.

This study investigated the correlation between parents' nutrition quotient (NQ) and the nutrition quotient of Korean preschoolers (NQ-P) of picky eaters (PE) aged five years living in Dobong-gu, Seoul. The questionnaire was conducted online by parents of 187 preschoolers between May 25 and June 5, 2020. PE was defined as an average score of 3 or more on the picky eating questionnaires; non-picky eaters (NPE, n=120) and PE (n=67). The correlation between preschoolers and their parents was assessed using the NQ-P and NQ, respectively. Compared to the NPE, picky eating (p<0.001) was significantly higher, and vegetable preference (p<0.001), NQ-P (p<0.05), moderation dimension (p<0.05), frequency of vegetable intake (p<0.05) of balance dimension, and processed beverages (p<0.01) of moderation dimension were significantly lower in the PE. The correlation between the NQ and NQ-P was related to the diversity (p<0.05), moderation (p<0.05), and environment (p<0.01) of NQ in the NPE and not related to the PE. PEs should increase their frequency of vegetable intake and reduce their intake of processed beverages. To increase the NQ-P of PE, parents should eat a balanced diet. Future studies on the NQ-P of preschoolers aged 3 to 5 are needed.

In this study, we identified the differences in food content watching habits and nutrition quotient in adolescent (NQ-A). A total number of 811 subjects were surveyed to establish their general characteristics, food content watching habits, and NQ-A using a self-administered questionnaire. In addition, the mediating effect of watching motivation between the type of food content watched and the NQ-A score was determined. The classification by the type of the food content mainly watched showed that 405 participants (49.9%) watched the Mukbang content, 244 (30.1%) the Cookbang content, and 162 (20.0%) another contents. Among the content watching motives in the Cookbang content group, information acquisition and enjoyment were predominant, whereas emotional satisfaction had the lowest frequency. Compared to the Mukbang content group, when the Cookbang content group mediated information acquisition motivation, the scores of the total, diversity, balance, and practice of NQ-A score areas increased. Compared to the Mukbang content group, the score in the moderation area decreased when the Cookbang content group mediated enjoyment motivation. If food content with accurate information and interesting content are produced and used for adolescent nutrition education, the education will be highly effective.

In this study, we aimed to explore whether eating alone is associated with mental health conditions in Korean adolescents. The data of 2,012 Korean adolescents aged 12-18 years were obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015–2019. Participants were classified into three groups based on the frequency of eating alone: none (all meals with others); 1 meal/day alone; and 2 meals/day alone. Mental health conditions were assessed based on stress recognition, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation. Multivariable logistic regressions were employed to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of poor mental health conditions according to the frequency of eating alone. Adolescents who ate 2 meals/day alone had higher odds of stress recognition (AOR: 2.65, 95% CI: 1.94- 3.63), depressive symptoms (AOR: 2.55, 95% CI: 1.47-4.42), and suicidal ideation (AOR: 2.53, 95% CI: 1.05-6.08) than those who ate all their meals with others. In addition, having breakfast or dinner alone increased the odds of stress recognition. Considering the continuous increase in the social phenomenon of eating alone, nutritional educations are needed to develop adolescents' ability to choose more nutritionally balanced and healthy meals when eating alone.

This study investigated the potential role of dietary factors associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Koreans. The scoping review method was used to evaluate the studies that utilized the secondary data sets comprising the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) and the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES). Articles published between 2012 and 2022 were identified using RISS, KISS, DBpia, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases. In all, there were 32 published articles on obesity and 119 on MetS. Obesity research included eight articles on nutrients, 12 on food items/food groups, two on dietary patterns, nine on dietary behavior/eating habits, and one on the dietary index. MetS studies comprised 34 articles on nutrients, 43 on food items/food groups, seven on dietary patterns, 25 on dietary behavior/eating habits, and 10 on the dietary index. Carbohydrates, alcohol, and coffee consumption were the most frequently studied dietary factors for obesity and MetS. The primary areas of study were largely focused on nutrients and food items/food groups. Thus, to overcome the paucity of information on the relationship of dietary patterns and dietary indexes with obesity and MetS, there is a need for further research using the KNHANES and KoGES data sets.

본 연구는 컨테이너 재배용 중간목의 노지 생산기술 개발을 위하여 왕벚나무 3년생을 대상으로 전정, 시비종류·시비량 처리에 미치는 영향을 구명하기 위해 수행되었다. 노지에 정식 후 전정 유무(1.8m 이하 전정(P) 및 무전정(N.P))와 시비종류 및 시비량(유박비료 21.7, 43.3g/㎡/yr, 퇴비 1.0, 2.0 ㎏/tree/yr, 고형비료 40.5, 81.0g/㎡/yr)을 대조구를 포함하여 처리하였다. 묘목의 생장에 미치는 영향을 평가하기 위해 정식 2년 후 생장 및 상대생장량, 건물생산량, 품질지수 및 양분특성을 비교‧분석하였다. 묘고 및 근원경 상대생장량은 무전정 처리보다 전정처리에서 유의적(p≤0.000)으로 높았으며, 전정을 실시한 고형비료 81.0g/㎡/yr 처리에서 가장 높은 생장량을 보였다. 본 연구결과 왕벚나무 접목 3년생을 노지에 정식한 후, 1.8m 이하 전정을 실시하고 고형비료 81.0g/㎡/yr을 처리하여 2년 재배 시, 고품질의 컨테이너 재배용 왕벚나무 중간목이 생산되는 것으로 판단된다.