Nutrition fact labels (NFLs) are a simple way to help people improve their nutritional intake by making healthier food choices. This study aimed to evaluate NFL use and eating habit changes among quarantined and hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients during the pandemic. This cross-sectional study used data from the 2019 and 2020 Korean Community Health Surveys (KCHSs). Data were collected from 229,099 subjects in 2019 and 229,269 subjects in 2020. In the 2020 KCHS, data from 1,073 COVID-19 patients were included. NFL use was divided into 4 categories based on a questionnaire: affect, read, aware, and never heard. Among COVID-19 patients, 32.15% reported that they had not heard of NFLs (never heard group) compared to 44.36% of the healthy population (p < 0.001). A total of 35.1% of COVID-19 patients who reported daily life change scores of 20 or less were in the affect group compared to 23.8% of healthy subjects. In the affect group, the proportion of respondents who reported increased consumption of delivered food was 38.7% in the COVID-19 group, which was 17.1% higher than that in the never heard group (Cramér’s V = 0.257; p < 0.001). Respondents with increased consumption of fast food/soda showed a higher ratio of having never heard of NFLs among healthy subjects (28.5%) than among COVID-19 patients (22.5%; p = 0.043). Confirmed COVID-19 infections and more unfavorable daily life changes due to COVID-19 led to increased nutritional information seeking and NFL use.
Nutrition fact labels (NFLs) have advantages because they are an intuitive tool that provides unified information regulated by the government and does not require any devices or special skills. During pandemic, with increased interest in information about healthy food choices and optimum nutrition, frequent exposure to NFLs on pre-packaged foods and dietary supplements may have helped consumers become aware of and/or use NFLs. We aimed to evaluate NFL usage changes from the pre- and early to the late pandemic years in the Korean adult population, using data from the Korean Community Health Survey (3-year total respondents n = 687,610) conducted from 2019 to 2021. NFL awareness, effect, and utilization ratios in each subgroup (sex, age, diabetes mellitus/hypertension, subjective health status, and physical activity) were analyzed for the 3 years by the cross-tabulation test of weighted complex sample analysis. Despite the declining awareness of NFLs in the Korean population, the proportion of individuals who were affected by the NFL content in the entire population and the utilization ratio among those who were aware of NFLs increased continuously during the early and late pandemic periods. Thus, Nutrition experts and policy-makers need to increase efforts to maintain interest in NFLs that emerged during the pandemic. NFLs, a conventional but well-regulated and effective tool, may have enabled the Korean population to make healthy food choices during the pandemic.
The present study sought to examine the association between an infant’s anthropometric outcomes with maternal Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) and Alternate Healthy Eating Index for Pregnancy (AHEI-P) scores during the third trimester of pregnancy. This prospective cohort study was applying 130 pregnant women, at the pregnancy training center in west Tehran, Iran (November 2020 to July 2021). The maternal dietary intake, and body mass index (BMI), and social economic level were evaluated. The data about birth weight, birth height, head circumference, and, gestational age at birth were extracted from each child’s health records. The ultimate sample included 122 (93.8%) pairs of women/newborn children. The participants, mean age was 28.13 ± 4.66 years with gestational age between 28 to 40 weeks and the mean of BMI was 24.62 ± 3.51. Our outcomes, after adjustment for confounding factors, suggested that those newborn infants in the highest quartile of maternal DII score had a significantly lower weight (p < 0.001) and height (p = 0.05), in comparison to those in the lowest quartile, but not head circumference (p = 0.18). Moreover, after adjustment for confounding factors, results suggested that those newborn infants in the First quartile of maternal AHEI-P score had a significantly lower weight (p = 0.018) and, in comparison to those in the higher quartile. It appears that newborn infants with lower maternal DII and higher AHEI-P scores may have a better anthropometric outcome. Further longitudinal and in-depth qualitative and quantitative studies, with a longer-term follow-up, is warranted to support the integrity of our outcomes.
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Decreased food intake is an effective mechanism for gastric bypass surgery (GBS) for successful weight loss. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess dietary intake, micro-and macro-nutrients in the patients undergoing GBS and determine the possible associations with weight changes. We assessed anthropometric indices and food intake at 24 month-post gastric bypass surgery. Dietary data was evaluated using three-day food records. After the 24 months of surgery, among 35 patients (mean age: 43.5 ± 11.2 years; 82.85% females), with the mean body mass index (BMI) of 30.5 ± 4.5 kg/m2, 17 cases were < 50% of their excess weight. The average daily calorie intake was 1,733 ± 630 kcal, with 14.88% of calories from protein. Consumption amounts of protein (0.82 ± 0.27 g/kg of the current weight), as well as fiber, and some micro-nutrients (vitamin B9, E, K, B5, and D3) were lower than recommended amounts. Patients were classified into three groups based on their success in weight loss after surgery. Calorie intake was not significantly different between groups, but successful groups consumed considerably more protein and less carbohydrate than the unsuccessful group (p < 0.05). Based on our findings, the patients undergoing GBS had inadequate macro- and micro-nutrient intake after 24 months. However, protein intake can affect patients' success in achieving better weight loss. Long-term cohort and clinical studies need to be conducted to comprehend this process further.
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Since chronic diseases have emerged as a major cause of death worldwide, people has been exposed to large amounts of information on healthy eating practices that are important aspects of its prevention and management. Food literacy, the functional, interactive, and critical ability to manage dietary information with the aim of improving health, is of global interest. In South Korea (hereafter Korea), there is currently a lack of food literacy research, despite its pertinence for the development of public health policies that are tailored to recipients' ability to understand and address health and nutrition issues. In this study, the research trend and policy implications of food literacy are derived through reviewing preceding studies related to food literacy in Korea and elsewhere. Existing literature on food literacy in Korea placed much emphasis on the functional ability of food literacy. Future research on the operational definitions of interactive and critical food literacy and their health effects in Korea is necessary. In addition, there is a lack of research on the development and validation of measurement tools that evaluate integrative concepts of food literacy. To accurately examine the relationships among food literacy, diet, and health, standardized measurement tools that can comprehensively evaluate food literacy frameworks for various Korean sub-population groups should be developed. Based on such future studies, an investigation of health promotion programs or policies on reducing the cognitive burden of food literacy would contribute to improving heathy eating practices in Korea.
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The Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) assesses compliance with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Studies suggest that adherence to the HEI-2010 is related to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Fetuin-A, a novel biomarker for T2D, may play a linking role in the inverse association between HEI-2010 and T2D. Thus, a case-control analysis involving 107 patients with T2D and107 healthy subjects was conducted to determine the association between HEI-2010 and serum fetuin-A levels. The results of simple regression analysis showed that fetuin-A levels were positively associated with full name of body mass index (BMI) (p < 0.001), waist circumference (WC) (p < 0.001), fasting blood glucose (FBG) (p < 0.001), triglycerides (TG) (p = 0.003), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) (p < 0.001), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (p =0.001) and negatively associated with physical activity (PA) (p < 0.001), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (p = 0.022), and HEI-2010 (p < 0.001) in all subjects. After controlling for confounders, the inverse association between fetuin-A and HEI-2010 remained significant in the subjects with T2D (β = −0.386; p < 0.001), 107 healthy controls (β = −0.237; p = 0.028), and all subjects (β = −0.298; p < 0.001). In conclusion, the present results suggested that higher quality diet assessed by HEI-2010 associates with lower serum fetuin-A levels in people with and without T2D. More studies are needed to confirm these findings.
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We aimed at assessing psychological variables and eating behaviors on quality of diet and life in South Korean women according to their weight status. Socio-psychology, eating behavior, quality of diet and quality of life data were assessed in 114 women (mean age: 34.5 ± 8.09 years). NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-RS) and coping styles questionnaire were used to assess socio-psychology variables, and eating behavior was assessed using the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26), Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), and General Food Craving Questionnaire Test (G-FCQ-T). Quality of diet was analyzed by Diet Quality Index-international (DQI-I), and obesity-related quality of life was evaluated using the Korean Obesity-related Quality of life Scale (KOQOL). Significant differences were in the psychological variables and eating behaviors in the obese group than the normal and overweight groups (p < 0.05). The overall score of DQI-I was significantly lower in the obese group than that of their counterparts (p < 0.05). BMI was positively correlated with neuroticism, emotional eating, and obesity-related quality of life, and negatively correlated with diet quality. Neuroticism was positively correlated with emotional eating and food craving. Emotional eating was positively correlated with obesity-related quality of life. In conclusion, women with a higher BMI had significantly more problematic eating behaviors, poor diet quality and quality of life.
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This study investigated the dietary habits and food preferences of elementary school students. The survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire distributed to 4th and 5th grade elementary school students (400 boys and 400 girls) in urban and suburban areas of Daejeon. The results of this study were as follows: male students in urban areas ate breakfast, unbalanced diets, and dairy products more frequently than male students in suburban areas (p < 0.05). Female students in urban areas ate dairy products (p < 0.01) and fruits (p < 0.001) more frequently than female students in suburban areas. Students had the high preferences for boiled rice and noodles with black bean sauce, beef rib soup, steamed beef rib, steamed egg, beef boiled in soy sauce, egg roll, bulgogi, pork cutlet, deep-fried pork covered with sweet and sour starchy sauce, and honeyed juice mixed with fruit as a punch. All students preferred kimchi, although students in the suburban areas preferred kimchi-fried rice (p < 0.05), and those in the urban areas preferred bean-paste soup (p < 0.01). Students in suburban areas showed a greater preference for seasoned bean sprouts and Altari kimchi. All of the students preferred fruits, rice cake made with glutinous rice, and pizza among other foods. Overall, there were distinct differences in the eating habits and food preferences of elementary school students according to the place of residence.
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This study was performed to identify dietary behavior such as snack consumption, night-eating and nutrients intake associated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The study was conducted on 219 normal glucose tolerance (NGT) subjects and 44 GDM subjects by using a questionnaire including dietary behavior, food frequency and 3-day food record. The mean age, OGTT, and delivery weight of GDM subjects were statistically higher than those in NGT. A larger proportion of NGT subjects consumed black coffee (49.8%) while the majority of GDM subjects (61.4%) drank mixed coffee with sugar and cream. Dairy products were the most frequently consumed snack item in NGT subjects (40.7%), while fruits were most frequently consumed food item in GDM subjects (34.4%). Many of NGT subjects (49.8%) answered that they hardly took night-eating snacks whereas most of GDM subjects (61.4%) took night-eating snacks more than once a week. For change of taste preference, the proportion of NGT subjects who showed less preference for salty taste (33.3%) or greasy taste (16.9%) was higher than that of GDM subjects (11.4%). Nutrient intakes of energy, fat, cholesterol, saturated fatty acid (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), carbohydrate, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin C, and vitamin E in GDM group were significantly higher than those in NGT group. Nutrient densities of SFA and vitamin C in GDM group were higher and nutrient density of calcium was lower than those in NGT group. Taken together, it is recommended to reduce night-eating snack and choose less salty and fatty foods, black-coffee rather than coffee with cream and sugar, and more dairy products to prevent GDM.
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