Effects of 12-week Vegetarian Diet on the Nutritional Status, Stress Status and Bowel Habits in Middle School Students and Teachers

This study investigated the effect of switching normal diet to vegetarian diet rich in vegetables and fruits for school foodservice and home meal on the nutritional status, bowel habit improvement and stress reduction of teachers and adolescents. A total of 40 research subjects (26 students, 14 teachers) from one middle school voluntarily participated in the research. Questionnaire surveys and blood analysis were conducted before and after a 12-week vegetarian diet period. The participants were asked on their dietary habit, bowel habit and stress measurement. After 12 weeks, reduction of BMI (kg/m2) in the students (p < 0.05) and reduction of TC (mg/dL) in both teachers and students (p < 0.05) were observed. Also reduction of LDL-C (mg/dL) was observed in the teachers (p < 0.05) whereas serum calcium and Vitamin B12 was increased in the students and teachers (p < 0.005). The teacher's stress level was reduced (p < 0.05) after the 12-week vegetarian diet. As for the changes in bowel habit, the number of the students and teachers classified as experiencing functional constipation was decreased respectively from 10 to 7, from 7 to 5. Based on the result, it is considered that the vegetarian diet rich in fruits and vegetables improved general health status of study subjects suggesting that such a dietary habit would substantially contribute to improving nutritional status and bowel habit.

An Analysis of Food Donators' Attitudes to the Foodbank Program in Korea / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The foodbank program is one of the social welfare programs that collects donated food and grocery products from the nation's food and grocery industry and distributes them to people who are in need. The purposes of this study were to: (a) investigate the food donators' perceptions of the foodbank program, (b) analyze the attitude toward the program by businesses, (c) compare the opinions on whether to donate or not, and (d) examine the frequency and category of the donated food. This research was conducted on three donator groups, such as contract foodservice management companies, franchising restaurant companies, and food manufacturing and grocery companies. A total of 63 donators participated in this survey. The main results of the investigation on the operating conditions were as follows; (a) From the donators' perspective, 73.0% and 71.0% of the respondents recognized the definition and purpose of this program, respectively. (b) Only 33.3% of respondents recognized the tax benefits of donating. (c) Contract foodservice management companies, and food manufacturing and grocery companies recognized the program more than franchising restaurant companies, and food manufacturing and grocery companies donated more than any of the others. (d) Most of the donated foods were bakery and confectionery, rice, and milk and dairy products.

Nutrient Intake and Related Factors in Middle-Aged Urban Adults / 대한지역사회영양학회지

Working towards the compression of morbidity, we attempted to find the way to contribute to desirable aging and/or healthy old age. By looking into the factors affecting nutrient intake in middle-aged adults, we sought to find ways to improve their health status, Two hundred and fifty middle-aged adults from 40 to 60 years of age residing in Seoul and its vicinity were recruited for the survey. Subjects were interviewed for general characteristics, dietary habits lifestyle, status and food intake by a trained interviewer. Two -day food record was included in addition to the 1 -day 24 hr recall. Date were analyzed for the relationship among nutrient intake, health status, socio-economic status dietary habits and lifestyle using a statistical program (SAS) Although the mean energy intake of the subjects did not reach the recommenced dietary allowances(RDA), mean protein intake was well above the RAD for both sex groups(111.2% and 129.1% for men and women, respectively) The caloric contribution of fat was 15 to 20 % of total energy intake among different groups. Riboflavin was the most deficient nutrient and its mean intake reached only 71.0% of RDA for mean This seemed to be due to the lower intake of milk and dairy products among middle-aged Koreans who are more accustomed to traditional meals. Income and exercise habit were the most important factors influencing the nutrient intake of middle-age adults. Also, BMI, smoking habit, level of education regularity of meal, and hours of sleeping influenced the nutrient intake, In conclusion, middle-age adults appeared to have similar problems with the elderly in terms of nutrient intake and this age group should to included when considering nutritionally vulnerable groups in addition to the elderly and young children. The improvement in the nutrition status of middle-age adults is even more important because that could lead into the better health the elderly.

A Survey of the Model Nutrition Services in Community Health Centers / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The Korean government enacted the National Health Promotion Act in January, 1995 and proclaimed its regulations and rules in September 1995, which became the basis of the national health policy. The health promotion programs consist of education for health, prevention of diseases, improvement of nutrition, and practice of healthy life style as defined in that Act. The Community Health Act was amended in 1995, which included implementing nutrition services in community health centers. The purpose of this report is to summerize the nutrition services conducted in 32 community health centers. the main nutritional activities were as follows : 1) nutritional guidance by counseling and education for pregnant or lactating women, infants, preschool children, and those with chronic diseases, 2) collection, analysis, and interpretation of data collected from the community, on background conditions and target population for the assessment of community needs, 3) evaluation of nutritional status of population in the community 4) nutritional guidance for mass feeding in different institution including schools and welfare institutions. In order to meet the government's expectations and desires, the community health centers have made continuous efforts to put nutritional activities into practice in the community. However, there are constraints, such as relative staff shortages, lack of funds, and information which hampers the nutritional activities.

The Development and Evaluation of a Simple Semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire to Assess the Dietary Intake of Adults in Large Cities / 대한지역사회영양학회지

Using data obtained from 1,473 adults aged 18-68 yrs, residing in large cities and by use of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, we assessed the relative importance of various foods as indicators of both the amount and the variability of selected nutrient intake to develop a simple food frequency questionnaire. Since Cronbach's alpha value of the questionnaire including 78 food items was 0.76, the reliability of this questionnaire was acceptable. A large fraction of the variability of nutrient intake in this population could be explained by the small number of food items. The estimation of dietary nutrient intake such as total calories or protein content, which are derived from almost all foods, will require more food items with nutrients such as calcium or vitamin A, which are concentrated in a few food items. A dietary history ascertaining the intake of as few as 5-19 food items mighted be all needed in order to determent the association between disease outcome and the intake of a single nutrient. There was certainly a high level of agreement with nutrient intake by the sbujects who were cross-classified by quartiles of nutrient indices based on all the food items(78) and by quartiles of nutrient indices based on food items selected by stepwise multiple regression for selected nutrients. The data provided further evidence that useful information on dietary intake over an extended period can be obtained by a simple and relatively inexpensive food frequency questionnaire.

Survey on the Serving Size and Waste Rate of Frequently Consumed Dishes in Korean Style Restaurants

This survey was conducted to find out one serving size and waste rate of frequently consumed dishes in 37 Korean style restaurants. The range of one serving size and waste rate of Pab(boiled rice) were 180~290g and 0~21%, respectively. The mean intakes of Pab were varied according to the kind of dishes served. The waste rate of Yukgaejang(Hot meat soup) is low among Tangban(meat soups). The waste rate of Jeongol(stew with various foods) was higher than other menu items. The average one serving size per person of Pulgogi(grilled meat with sauce), Galbi gui(grilled beef ribs with sauce), Deongsim gui(grilled meat) were 270g, 360g, and 210g, respectively. The average waste rate of side dishes were varied according to dist served. The dish which has higher waste rate than other dishes were Samgaetang(boiled chicken with ginseng), Bokmaeuntang(stew with puffer), Naengmyeun(cold noodle), Pulgogi(grilled meat with sauce), Galbi gui(frilled veef ribs). The reasonable one serving size of dishes based on this survey results was suggested for serving in restaurants.

Survey on Waste Rates of Foods for Menu Planning

The waste rates of 98 food items after pre-preparation were surveyed to provide database for good menu planning. The waste rates turned out 0~64.27% in vegetables, 6.38~7.03% in potatoes, 6.25~68.75% in fishes and shellfishes, 16.61% in eggs, and 16.00~56.84% in fruits. Foods with high waste rates were vegetables, fishes and shellfishes. Survey results were compared with other food composition tables. Foods with 30% higher waste rate than other food composition tables were squash leaf, pacific ocean perch, sweet potato stalk, water cress, green peas, alaska pollack, bluefin tuna, beka squid, crown daisy, dodok, amaranth, beef ribs. Food which waste rates turned out to be decreased by about 30% in this study were corb shell, pomfret, sea mussel, warty sea squirt. For the menu planning, reasonaly exact waste rates for each food items are essential. Since survey results show signigicant deviations, there should be more studies for exact waste rates for each food.