Trends in Korean parents' perceptions on food additives during the period 2014–2018

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES@#While the use of food additives in food processing has become a common practice worldwide, consumers' worry about potential hazards has not diminished.The purpose of this study was to identify trends in South Korean parents' perceptions about food additives by analyzing the results of surveys conducted from 2014 to 2018. @*SUBJECTS/METHODS@#We conducted an off-line survey in Korea annually between 2014 and 2018 on perceptions about food additives. The numbers of survey respondents in each year from 2014 to 2018 were 381, 426, 301, 519, and 369, respectively. Our consumer respondents were parents of elementary-school-aged children. @*RESULTS@#The ratios of respondents perceiving “food safety” as the most important factor in purchasing processed foods and “food additives” as the biggest threat to food safety have decreased over the years. However, most consumers still have negative perceptions of food additives. Additionally, among consumers lower confidence in or trust of the Korean government continued throughout the study period and appeared to be the main problem that needs to be overcome. @*CONCLUSIONS@#This study found that Korean parents are still troubled by food additives.Consumers' confidence in the government needs to be increased through public communications. More multifaceted educational programs communicating scientific knowledge of food additives are needed in order to correct consumers' misperceptions.

Trends in Korean parents' perceptions on food additives during the period 2014–2018

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES@#While the use of food additives in food processing has become a common practice worldwide, consumers' worry about potential hazards has not diminished.The purpose of this study was to identify trends in South Korean parents' perceptions about food additives by analyzing the results of surveys conducted from 2014 to 2018. @*SUBJECTS/METHODS@#We conducted an off-line survey in Korea annually between 2014 and 2018 on perceptions about food additives. The numbers of survey respondents in each year from 2014 to 2018 were 381, 426, 301, 519, and 369, respectively. Our consumer respondents were parents of elementary-school-aged children. @*RESULTS@#The ratios of respondents perceiving “food safety” as the most important factor in purchasing processed foods and “food additives” as the biggest threat to food safety have decreased over the years. However, most consumers still have negative perceptions of food additives. Additionally, among consumers lower confidence in or trust of the Korean government continued throughout the study period and appeared to be the main problem that needs to be overcome. @*CONCLUSIONS@#This study found that Korean parents are still troubled by food additives.Consumers' confidence in the government needs to be increased through public communications. More multifaceted educational programs communicating scientific knowledge of food additives are needed in order to correct consumers' misperceptions.

The Development of ‘Good Dietary Life Guide’ Textbooks for Elementary School Students / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to develop dietary education textbooks for elementary school students by focusing on the three core values of environment, health and gratitude from the National Food Education Plan. METHODS: The contents of textbooks and teacher's guidebooks were developed with brainstorming of the authors as well as consultation with experts and by considering not only the three core values of environment, health, and gratitude, but also the performance indicators of the 2nd National Food Education Plan and the key competencies and creative convergence approach of the 2015 revised national curriculum. RESULTS: A total of 12 different dietary education textbooks named ‘Good Dietary Life Guide’ and the teachers' guidebooks from the first to the sixth grade of elementary school were developed. The textbooks were fundamentally developed connecting the three core values, the outcome indices of the 2nd National Food Education Plan and the key competences of the 2015 revised national curriculum. Various educational activities such as thinking, debate, writing, cooperative learning, experience, practice were included to promote students' participation. These books could be utilized in every field of dietary education targeting elementary students such as creative experiential activity, convergent classes (integrated subjects, Practical arts, Social studies, Science, Moral education and Korean), after school classes, rural experience, general agricultural education, after-school child care services and community child care centers. CONCLUSIONS: The continuous and repetitive use of the textbooks from the first to the sixth grade would contribute to the improvement of food habits and the personalities of elementary school students, and consequently make the students grow up as healthy citizens.

Development of 'Children's Food Avatar' Application for Dietary Education / 대한지역사회영양학회지

An educational application (App) called 'Children's Food Avatar' was developed in this study by using a food DB of nutrition and functionality from Rural Development Administration (RDA) as a smart-learning mobile device for elementary school students. This App was designed for the development of children's desirable dietary habits through an on-line activity of food choices for a meal from food DB of RDA provided as Green Water Mill guide. A customized avatar system was introduced as an element of fun and interactive animation for children which provides nutritional evaluation of selected foods by changing its appearance, facial look, and speech balloon, and consequently providing chances of correcting their food choices for balanced diet. In addition, nutrition information menu was included in the App to help children understand various nutrients, their function and healthy dietary life. When the App was applied to 54 elementary school students for a week in November, 2012, significant increases in the levels of knowledge, attitude and behavior in their diet were observed compared with those of the control group (p < 0.05, 0.01). Both elementary students and teachers showed high levels of satisfaction ranging from 4.30 to 4.89 for the App, therefore, it could be widely used for the dietary education for elementary school students as a smart-learning device.

Effects of Nutrition Education for Chinese College Students in Korea: Focused on Personalized Daily Energy Requirement and Food Exchange Units / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of nutrition education on nutrition knowledge, dietary attitude and dietary intake of Chinese college students in Korea. The subjects were 64 Chinese college students in Korea (educated group, 32 students vs. non-educated group, 32 students). Educated group was lessoned as group and/or individual. Nutrition education program consisted of four lessons (40min / lesson), '6 major nutrients & function (group lesson)', '6 food group and sources (group lesson)', 'personalized daily needed energy and food exchange units using Food Exchange System (individual lesson)', and 'smart choice of snacks and eating-out foods (group lesson)'. We examined the differences between educated group and non-educated group in nutrition knowledge, dietary attitudes and nutrients intake. After education, there were positive improvements on nutrition knowledge: 'function and foods of 6 nutrients', on dietary attitudes: 'type of breakfast' in educated group. In the evaluation of nutrient intakes according to Dietary Reference Intakes for Korean (KDRI), there were positive improvements on intake levels of riboflavin, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate, Ca and K in the educated group. In the index of nutrition quality (INQ), nutrition adequacy ratio (NAR) and mean nutrition adequacy ratio (MAR) were significantly increased in the educated group. In conclusion, it is possible to improve nutrition knowledge, dietary attitude and dietary intake of Chinese college students in Korea through the nutrition education focused on personalized daily needed energy and food exchange units.

A study on Consumer's Needs for Development of Diet Guide Application for Pregnant Women / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study was conducted to assess needs of educational mobile application (App) development for nutritional management and information on pregnant women. A total of 105 pregnant women were investigated on general characteristics, dietary habits, health behavior and needs for contents and composition of the application. The mean age of the subjects was 31.9 years and the mean gestation period was 25.4 weeks. The rate of skipping meal was 39.0% and the rate of irregular meal time was 46.6%. The consciousness of the meal as balanced nutrition and health was 19.9%. Eating out at least forth a week was 35.3%. Obtaining information about pregnancy and childbirth were internet (35.3%), hospital or health center (19.9%), books (17.1%), experience (15.2%), mobile (8.6%) and friends or acquaintances (4.8%). If the application is developed, subject replied 'frequently use' (51.4%), 'when needed' (47.6%) respectively. The favour topic in developing application were 'nutrition information of pregnant and fetal' (36.2%), 'weight management, feeding' (33.3%), 'food choice and cooking' (21.9%), 'shopping' (5.7%), 'example of menu' (1.9%), 'effect of smoking, drinking, exercising' (1.0%). The favorite content was 'include sufficient amount about information' (44.8%). Depending on the age and education level, the best age for pregnancy group have significantly higher ability for utilize and information gathering than old age pregnant group. Also the best age for pregnancy group have high demands of design, convenience and various contents in App development. Therefore, mobile application (App) for pregnant women could be widely used as an effective dietary guide.

Development of a Risk Communication Material on Artificial Food Color Additives for Elementary School Students / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study was to develop a risk communication material on artificial food color additives for elementary school students. The development was based on a previous study on the perception and information needs of elementary school students on artificial food colors including that the students usually were interested in artificial food colors, but didn't know about those well, and they wanted to get information on the safety of their intake, function and necessity of food color additives. Based on the above results, a comic book on artificial food colors was developed as a risk communication material for the elementary school students by brainstorming and consultation with experts. The book was titled as 'Variegated artificial food colors! Understanding and Eating'. It contained basic information on food additives focused on artificial food colors including definition, function, calculation of ADI, usage of artificial food colors, quizzes and useful web sites, etc. The results of field evaluation for the developed material by 101 elementary school students were very positive in getting the correct information, understanding artificial food colors and having proper attitude for healthy dietary life. Therefore, the developed material could be used to help elementary school students have proper perception on artificial food colors and facilitate the risk communication on food additives.

Development of Risk Communication Strategy and Educational Homepage on Food Additives / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this research was to develop risk communication (RC) strategy and educational web-site on food additives for elementary students and their parents to improve their perception on food additives and dietary life. First of all, a survey was conducted from 1,200 elementary children and their parents to diagnose the perception and information needs on food additives. The survey revealed that most children and their parents did not have enough knowledge on food additives and demanded the safety information on food additives. Second, previous researches on food communication were analyzed to develop a risk communication model, and it was directly applied in this study. Third, a web site (www.foodnara.go.kr/foodaddy) was developed to upload the education materials along with up-to-date information and classroom activities for teachers on food additives. Fourth, the developed homepage was evaluated by applying to about 100 children and parents each, and majority of them showed high levels of understanding (children 85.7%, parents 79%) and satisfaction (children 77.2%, parents 64%), and the effect of getting over the prejudice against food additives was observed. The RC model developed in this study could be applied to any food risk communication, and the content and materials in this web site including booklets, animations, and quiz could be used effectively to promote the communication on food additives. In the future, it will be necessary to advertise the web site to be utilized by various consumer levels and to update the contents continuously by developing consumer-friendly communication materials.

Clinical Outcomes after Arthroscopic ACL Reconstruction using Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Allografts, Anterior Tibialis Tendon Allografts, and Hamstring Tendon Autografts

PURPOSE: To use physical and quantitative tests and second look arthroscopy to compare knee joint stability, graft remodeling, and healing after arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in patients receiving bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) allografts, tibialis anterior tendon (TA) allografts, and hamstring (HA) autografts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed 338 patients who underwent ACL reconstruction between March 2000 and February 2006 and who were followed up for at least 1 year. There were 60 BPTB allografts, 153 TA allografts, and 125 HA autografts. We compared the range of motion (ROM), Lachman test, pivot shift test, KT-1000 arthrometer test, and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) knee examination form among the three groups, as well as the laxity and synovial coverage of the grafts as determined by second look arthroscopy. RESULTS: There was no significant difference among the three groups with regard to preoperative and postoperative clinical and physical findings. Synovial coverage of greater than 50% was found in 60% of patients in the BPTB allograft group, in 69.2% of patients in the TA allograft group, and in 100% of patients in the HA autograft group. The HA autograft group had a higher incidence of synovial coverage greater than 50% (p=0.017, 0.025). Regarding IKDC grade, Grade A or B was found among 93.7% of the cases with synovial coverage greater than 50% and among 72.2% of the cases with synovial coverage less than 50%. There was a significant correlation between the extent of synovial coverage and the IKDC grade (p=0.015). CONCLUSION: The HA autograft group had superior synovial coverage over the other two groups on second look arthroscopy, and there was a significant correlation between the extent of synovial coverage and the IKDC grade.

Development of Comic Books and an Animation as Dietary Education Materials for Children / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study was to develop children-friendly comic books and animation for dietary education of 3rd or 4th grade elementary students. Through a literature review on current dietary problems and dietary education for children, 15 educational themes were chosen on both healthy eating and safe dietary life. Comic books and animation were developed based on the themes by the brainstorming and help of professional animators, and they were applied and evaluated in the field. The developed comic books and animation, with its own characters, proved to be of high quality and effective educational materials for children's healthy and safe eating. Compared with the reference group, the tested group has shown a significant improvement in dietary knowledge and attitude (p < 0.05). And both parents (level of understanding 4.29, level of interest 4.49, level of usefulness 4.46, level of design satisfaction 3.95 in 5-point Likert scale) and children (level of understanding 4.63, level of interest 4.57, level of usefulness of 1st comic book 4.44, 2nd comic book 4.49, level of design satisfaction 4.06, level of usefulness for knowledge pages 4.22 in 5-point Likert scale) have shown high levels of interests and satisfaction. Therefore, these materials could be utilized as effective educational materials for elementary students in school lunch time, extra-curricular activities, or after school programs.

Interview Survey of Elementary School Students'Nutrition Education and Practice / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study investigated the experience and practice of elementary school students on nutrition education. The data were collected from 217 male and female students attending 5-6th grade elementary schools in Seoul and Kyunggi-Do from March to June 2007, interviewing face to face by a nutrition teacher and 3 interns of a nutrition teacher. The results were as follows: 86.5% of the subjects learned about 'Table etiquette', 'Reasons for eating fruits and vegetables'(78.7%), 'Food waste and environment'(72.3%), 'Healthy snacks'(55.7%), 'Food sanitation'(52.3%), 'Food culture of foreign countries'(48.1%). Nutrition education experience was significantly different by gender. A total of 43.5% boys responded that they never learned about 'basic food preperation'(p < 0.01). They had learned 'Nutrients for body'and 'Food waste and environment'in school, 'Healthy weight loss', 'Food culture of foreign countries', 'Food circulation'on television, Most content ('Table etiquette', 'Simple cooking', 'Food sanitation', 'Eating behaviors for health', 'Reasons for eating fruits and vegetables', 'Healthy snacks') was learned from parents. The practice after nutrition education was higher in 'Table etiquette'(2.14), 'Eating fruits and vegetables'(2.07) than others compared with education experience. The most reason of non-practice on nutrition information was 'Troublesome'. In 'Nutrients for body', a boy answered 'Difficult for practice'20.0%, a girl answered 'Difficult to understand'32.6%, showing a significant difference between the gender groups (p < 0.001). They remembered the 'Nutrients for body'(49.6%), 'Food sanitation'(44.5%) because of 'important content', 'Basic food preparation'(40.6%), 'Food culture of foreign countries'(36.3%) because of 'interesting content', 'Healthy weight loss'(52.0%), 'Eating behavior for health'(44.5%) and 'Healthy snacks'(33.7%) because of 'need for my health'.

Improvement of Dietary Attitudes of Elementary Students by Nutrition Labeling Education / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study was to improve the dietary attitudes of elementary students through nutrition labeling education. A class of fifth-grade elementary students was selected and educated for basic nutrition and reading of nutrition labeling for 8 weeks by using education materials from the KFDA. After the education, the children were subjected for the practice of reading nutrition labeling during winter vacation, and the changes in their dietary attitudes and practice were measured by using questionnaires for children and their parents along with measuring physical changes. The results were as follows: The level of nutritional knowledge was improved significantly after the education (p < 0.05). Nutrition labeling education increased the children's frequency of reading nutrition labeling from 34.2% to 57.9% while purchasing processed foods (p < 0.05), and 92.1% of the children answered that their dietary attitudes improved by nutrition labeling education. However, no improvement in physical measurements was observed after education. This result suggested that 8-week of education were not enough to show the improvement in physical measurements, and long-term and repeated education is necessary. After the education, most children answered that they recognized the benefit of reading nutrition labeling and they would read the nutrition labeling when purchasing processed foods. Parents also recognized the necessity of nutrition labeling education in school and suggested the need of nutrition labeling be easy to read. The above results suggested that nutrition labeling education is an effective way for improving dietary attitudes of children.

Application of a Practical Nutrition Education Program, KHIDIKIDS, for the Improvement of Dietary Attitudes and Habits of Elementary Students

The purpose of this study was to improve the dietary attitudes and habits of elementary students in lower classes through a 12-week practical nutrition education program called KHIDIKIDS, which was developed by Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) in 2004 based on the 2003 Children's Dietary Guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Korea. KHIDIKIDS has never been applied in the field, therefore, another purpose of this study was to evaluate the program in the school education and suggest the ideas for the improvement. KHIDIKIDS was applied to a class of 2nd-grade elementary students consisting of 28 children in Seoul during the fall semester of 2005, and the effect of the program was measured by using questionnaires for the students and their parents. The statistical analysis of the study was conducted by using SPSS WIN 11.5 program, and the results were as follows: The children's knowledge on nutrition was improved significantly by KHIDIKIDS education (p < .001), such that the average score on nutritional knowledge increased from 8.32 to 9.64 after education. This practical nutrition education program also improved the dietary attitudes and habits of children especially in healthy body weight, daily exercise, and having breakfast (p < .05). Parents also showed very positive responses for the nutrition education. During the application of KHIDIKIDS in the field, the followings were indicated for adjustment; First, some education content of the week was too much to be finished in a class hour and more hours need to be allocated. Second, some terminology need to be adjusted to help the students understand easily. Thirdl, the order of the '5 Basic Food Groups' needs to be matched with the order of each food group in the 'Food Tower' not to make children be confused. Above results showed that KHIDIKIDS was effective for the improvement of dietary attitudes and habits of lower elementary students. However, further educational effects would be achieved when the education was started from the 1st to higher grades along with the parents' participation.