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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES@#In times of disaster, simplified and minimized nutritional standards are necessary for a quick response to provide nutritious relief food. This study aimed to develop nutrient-based nutritional standards for foodservice at shelters during disasters in the Republic of Korea (South Korea). @*SUBJECTS/METHODS@#The standards were developed in 2 phases. First, nutrients to be included in the standards were selected. Initial candidates were selected considering 3 aspects: preceding standards, insufficient intake during disasters, and inadequate intake among South Koreans. Final selection was made by excluding nutrients for 3 reasons:nutrients for which there is no deficiency concern in South Korea, nutrients whose intake data were not available, or nutrients whose values presented by Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans are difficult to achieve based on the current diet among South Koreans. Second, the reference values of energy and the selected nutrients were calculated. The reference values for the entire population who were 1-year-old and over were calculated by multiplying the estimated energy requirements or the recommended nutrient intake and the proportion of each age and sex group. Respective reference values were also calculated for 4 different age groups (1–5, 6–11, 12–64, and ≥ 65-year-old). @*RESULTS@#The standards for the entire population were 2,000 kcal for energy, 55 g for protein, 650 µg retinol activity equivalents for vitamin A, 95 mg for vitamin C, 1.1 mg for thiamin, 1.3 mg for riboflavin, 14 mg niacin equivalents for niacin, 350 µg dietary folate equivalents for folic acid, 750 mg for calcium, and 11 mg for iron. Four additional standards corresponding to each age group were developed. @*CONCLUSIONS@#The nutritional standards during disasters were developed for South Korea, including energy and 9 nutrients with reference values for the entire population and 4 different age groups. The standards will contribute to maintaining the health of disaster evacuees in South Korea.
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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES@#The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of application of the draft nutritional standards for school lunches in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) from the supplier perspective. @*SUBJECTS/METHODS@#In November 2018, a pilot operation was conducted at 104 participating schools for 2 weeks each by applying the draft standards A and B. To evaluate the ease and appropriateness of application of the standards, we analyzed the nutritional values and food cost of the school lunches for 2 weeks before and for 4 weeks under the pilot operation. We conducted an online survey of school dietitians or nutrition teachers of the participating schools to evaluate the feasibility of application of the standards in school lunch sites. @*RESULTS@#The proportions of schools of which lunches met the reference values of the school’s own nutritional standards were 19.2% for the standards A and 21.2% for the standards B. The food cost of school lunches applying the standards A (KRW 2,880) was significantly lower than that of school lunches applying the standards B (KRW 3,030) or the existing standards (KRW 2,980). As a result of the survey, the mean score for the ease of application was significantly higher for the standards B (2.75) than for the standards A (2.24). The proportions of school dietitians or nutrition teachers reporting no problem in meeting an existing food cost standard were 72.5% for the standards A and 61.8% for the standards B, respectively. The overall appropriateness of application was higher for the standards B, because almost two-thirds (58.8%) of the respondents answered that the standards B were more appropriate than the standards A. @*CONCLUSION@#The standards B were more feasible to apply as nutritional standards for school lunches than the standards A from the supplier perspective.
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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES@#This study aimed to analyze the potential of school meals in South Korea as a sustainable tool to reduce carbon emissions by focusing on animal- vs.plant-based protein foods.MATERIALS/METHODS: By using a stratified proportional allocation method, 536 out of the 11,082 schools nationwide were selected including 21 kindergartens, 287 elementary-, 120 middle- and 108 high schools. A total of 2,680 meals served for 5 consecutive days (June 21–25, 2021) were collected. We analyzed the average serving amounts of protein foods (animal- vs. plant-based) per meal and then, calculated the estimated average amounts of carbon emission equivalents per meal by applying the conversion coefficients. The t-test and analysis of variance were used for statistical analyses (α = 0.05). @*RESULTS@#The average serving amount of animal-based protein foods per meal was 12.5 g, which was approximately 3 times higher than that of plant-based ones (3.8 g) (P < 0.001); the Meat-group had the highest average amount of 17.0 g, followed by Egg-group (9.6 g), Fishgroup (7.6 g), and Beans-and-Nuts-group (3.8 g) (P < 0.05). Specifically, pork (25.1 g) was ranked first, followed by poultry (19.6 g), processed meat products (18.0 g). The estimated average amount of carbon emission equivalents of animal-based protein foods per meal was 80.1 g CO 2 e, which was approximately 31 times higher than that of plant-based ones (2.6 g CO 2 e) (P < 0.001); the Meat-group had the highest average amount of 120.3 g CO 2 e, followed by Fish-group (44.5 g CO 2 e), Egg-group (25.9 g CO 2 e), and Beans-and-Nuts-group (2.6 g CO 2 e) (P < 0.05). Specifically, processed meat products (270.8 g CO 2 e) were ranked first, followed by pork (91.7 g CO 2 e), and processed fish products (86.6 g CO 2 e). @*CONCLUSIONS@#The results implied that school meals with plant-based alternatives could be a sustainable tool to improve carbon footprint.
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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES@#This study investigated the importance and performance level of sodium reduction practices in school meal service by school nutrition teachers and dietitians, and compared them according to school level and placement of the school nutrition teacher. @*SUBJECTS/METHODS@#An online survey was conducted with 608 nutrition teachers and dietitians in schools in the Republic of Korea from September 28 to November 12, 2021 (response rate: 57%). The questionnaire comprised 11 items related to sodium reduction practices (purchasing, food preparation and serving, and education). The importance and performance level of each item was rated on a 5-point scale. The mean differences were analyzed using t-tests or one-way analyses of variance and Duncan’s post-hoc tests. An importance-performance analysis was performed on sodium reduction practices. @*RESULTS@#Participating in sodium reduction education, sodium reduction education for cooks, and sodium reduction education for students were assessed to have high importance but low performance. Overall, the higher the school level, the lower was the importance level of sodium reduction practices. The performance in kindergartens and elementary schools was higher than that in middle and high schools. The importance in the purchasing category perceived by dietitians was lower as compared to nutrition teachers. In addition, the performance in the purchasing, food preparation and serving, and education categories perceived by dietitians was lower than those of nutrition teachers. @*CONCLUSION@#Sodium reduction education for nutrition teachers and dietitians, cooks, and students should prioritize practicing sodium reduction in school meal service. Specific guidelines for managing sodium reduction at all stages—purchasing, food preparation, and serving—should also be developed. The results could be used as basic data to reduce the sodium content in school meals.
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Objectives@#The number of schools offering school lunches has increased in China. This study examined the dietary quality of the lunches consumed by Chinese school-age children and adolescents, with a focus on comparing school lunches with home lunches. @*Methods@#The first weekday 24-hour dietary recall data of 6~17-year-old students (n=1,084) from the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey were analyzed. The subjects were divided into the school lunch group and the home lunch group, and the dietary quality of lunches was compared between the two groups among 6~11-year-old students (n=634; 177 in the school lunch group and 457 in the home lunch group) and 12~17-year-old students (n=450;144 in the school lunch group and 306 in the home lunch group), respectively. Frequently consumed foods, amount of food group intake, food group intake pattern, Dietary Diversity Score (DDS), and Dietary Variety Score (DVS) were examined. @*Results@#The most frequently consumed foods in both lunch groups were rice and pork. An excessive intake of meat and insufficient intake of seafood were noted in both lunch groups. The school lunch group showed a lower level of vegetable consumption than the home lunch group (P=0.017 in 6~11-year-old students, P=0.003 in 12~17-year-old students).Although more students ate meals with a better dietary pattern in the school lunch group than the home lunch group, there were no significant differences in DDS and DVS between the two groups. @*Conclusions@#Overall, the dietary quality of lunches was not superior in the school lunch group compared to the home lunch group. This suggests that much room remain for improving dietary quality of school lunches in China.
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Objectives@#The number of schools offering school lunches has increased in China. This study examined the dietary quality of the lunches consumed by Chinese school-age children and adolescents, with a focus on comparing school lunches with home lunches. @*Methods@#The first weekday 24-hour dietary recall data of 6~17-year-old students (n=1,084) from the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey were analyzed. The subjects were divided into the school lunch group and the home lunch group, and the dietary quality of lunches was compared between the two groups among 6~11-year-old students (n=634; 177 in the school lunch group and 457 in the home lunch group) and 12~17-year-old students (n=450;144 in the school lunch group and 306 in the home lunch group), respectively. Frequently consumed foods, amount of food group intake, food group intake pattern, Dietary Diversity Score (DDS), and Dietary Variety Score (DVS) were examined. @*Results@#The most frequently consumed foods in both lunch groups were rice and pork. An excessive intake of meat and insufficient intake of seafood were noted in both lunch groups. The school lunch group showed a lower level of vegetable consumption than the home lunch group (P=0.017 in 6~11-year-old students, P=0.003 in 12~17-year-old students).Although more students ate meals with a better dietary pattern in the school lunch group than the home lunch group, there were no significant differences in DDS and DVS between the two groups. @*Conclusions@#Overall, the dietary quality of lunches was not superior in the school lunch group compared to the home lunch group. This suggests that much room remain for improving dietary quality of school lunches in China.
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PURPOSE: The Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (KDRIs) suggest that the goal for the intake of sodium should be less than 2,000 mg, which is thought to be infeasible to achieve when eating the typical Korean diet. This study aimed to obtain the new intake goals for sodium with improved feasibility to achieve, and also to design optimized food intake patterns for Korean adults by performing linear programming. METHODS: The data from a one day 24-hour dietary recall of the 2010 ~ 2014 Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey were used to quantify food items that Korean adults usually consumed. These food items were categorized into seven groups and 24 subgroups. The mean intakes and intake distributions of the food groups and the food subgroups were calculated for eight age (19 ~ 29, 30 ~ 49, 50 ~ 64, and over 65 years old) and gender (male and female) groups. A linear programming model was constructed to minimize the difference between the optimized intakes and the mean intakes of the food subgroups while meeting KDRIs for energy and 13 nutrients, and not exceeding the typical quantities of each of the food subgroups consumed by the respective age and gender groups. As an initial solution of the linear programming, the optimized intake of seasonings, including salt, was calculated as 0 g for all the age and gender groups when the sodium constraint was inserted not to exceed 2,000 mg. Therefore, the sodium constraint was progressively increased by 100 mg until the optimized intake of seasoning was obtained as the values closest to the 25(th) percentile of the intake distribution of seasonings for the respective age and gender groups. RESULTS: The optimized food intake patterns were mathematically obtained by performing linear programming when the sodium constraint values were 3,600 mg, 4,500 mg, 4,200 mg, 3,400 mg, 2,800 mg, 3,100 mg, 3,100 mg, and 2,500 mg for the eight age and gender groups. CONCLUSION: The optimized food intake patterns for Korean adults were designed by performing linear programming after increasing the sodium constraint values from 2,000 mg to 2500 ~ 4,500 mg according to the age and gender groups. The resulting patterns suggest that current diets should be modified to increase the intake of vegetables for all the groups, milk/dairy products for the female groups, and fruits for the female groups except for the females aged 50 ~ 64 years.
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Adult , Female , Humans , Diet , Eating , Fruit , Korea , Nutrition Surveys , Nutritional Requirements , Programming, Linear , Recommended Dietary Allowances , Seasons , Sodium , VegetablesABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of parents' monitoring of school lunch programs and to examine the relationship of parents' school lunch monitoring with their level of trust in school lunch programs. METHODS: During November 2016, a web survey was conducted with 1,283 parents who had participated in monitoring of school lunch programs. A total of 621 parents completed the questionnaires (48.4% response rate) and the responses from 442 parents were analyzed (34.5% analysis rate) for elementary (n=196) and middle/high school parents (n=246), respectively. RESULTS: Both the elementary and middle/high school parents most wanted to participate in monitoring 1~2 times per month, which was less frequent than their current practice. They showed the highest experience rate in ‘food sanitation’ area in both the prior training and actual practice of school lunch monitoring. They most responded ‘increasing trust in school lunch programs’ as a merit and ‘lack of parents participating in monitoring’ as a problem of school lunch monitoring. The average levels of trust did not differ between elementary and middle/high school parents. Multiple regression analyses showed that elementary school parents' level of satisfaction in the monitored school lunch programs was positively associated with the parents' level of trust in general school lunch programs. Monitoring frequency and parents' age, in addition to level of satisfaction in the monitored school lunch program, were associated with level of trust in general school lunch programs among middle/high school parents. CONCLUSIONS: There was room for change in parents' school lunch monitoring programs to meet parents' needs better. Well-managed school lunch monitoring programs contributing to parents' satisfaction with school lunch programs could increase parents' level of trust in school lunch programs.
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Humans , Lunch , ParentsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: A growing body of research has indicated that night eating could be associated with poor diet quality and negative health outcomes. This study examined the nutritional aspects of night eating, its related factors, and the association between night eating and body weight among Korean adolescents. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This study analysed the data from a one day 24-hour dietary recall as well as a demographic survey of 1,738 Korean adolescents aged 12 to 18-years-old obtained from the 2010-2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. 'Night eating' was defined as consuming 25% or more of one's daily energy intake between 21:00 and 06:00. Subjects complying with the preceding condition were classified as 'night eaters', whereas the rest were considered 'non-night eaters'. Logistic regression analysis examined factors related to night eating. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between night eating and BMI z-scores, whereas multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between night eating and weight status. RESULTS: About 21% of Korean adolescents appeared to be night eaters. Night eaters showed increased breakfast skipping (P = 0.001), higher energy intake from snacks (P < 0.001), greater proportion of energy intake from fat (P = 0.029), and lower Dietary Diversity Scores (P = 0.008) than non-night eaters. Male adolescents presented 1.9 times higher odds of being night eaters than females. Adolescents whose both parents were night eaters were 4.4 times as likely to be night eaters as those whose neither parents were. Female adolescents showed a significant relationship between night eating and BMI z-scores (β = 0.28, P = 0.004). However, night eating did not increase odds of being overweight or obese in adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: Night eating in Korean adolescents was related to undesirable dietary behaviours and low diet quality in general as well as higher BMI z-scores in females. Male gender and parental night eating appeared to be the factors that significantly increased odds of night eating. These results suggest that night eating should be considered when designing nutrition education or intervention programs targeting adolescents.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Female , Humans , Male , Body Weight , Breakfast , Demography , Diet , Eating , Education , Energy Intake , Feeding Behavior , Korea , Linear Models , Logistic Models , Nutrition Surveys , Obesity , Overweight , Parents , SnacksABSTRACT
This study was conducted to analyze traditional aspects of school lunch menus in Korea. We conducted a content analysis of menu-related contents included in guidelines for school lunch programs provided by 16 city and provincial education offices. In addition, the data of 10,495 menus for the third week of December 2010 and March, July, October 2011 from 557 elementary, middle, and high school were analyzed by school grade, area, and province. The results showed that there were no specific and detailed guidelines for menu planning in terms of traditional food culture in most of the guidelines for school lunch programs. However, the basic traditional menu composition was maintained in school lunch menus. The percentage of menus including rice and Kimchi was 97% and 95%, respectively, and that including Korean soup was about 72%. However, the frequency of serving Namul, Korean seasoned vegetable dish, accounted for only about 52% of the menus. The percentage of the menus following the traditional food group pattern including such five food groups as rice, Korean soup, Kimchi, Namul, and optional Korean side dish was only about 35%. The percentage of the menus following the traditional food group pattern excluding Namul from the five food groups accounted for about 30%. The traditional food group score, calculated by allocating 1 point to each of the five food groups was 4.06 out of 5 points on average. Elementary schools and schools in rural area and in Jeolla-do province served traditional menus more frequently. In conclusion, school lunch programs need to consider establishing traditional foods-based standards and relevant guidelines for school lunch, particularly for high schools and schools in urban areas and in some provinces.