Breakfast skipping and breakfast type are associated with daily nutrient intakes and metabolic syndrome in Korean adults.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Emerging evidence shows that eating breakfast and breakfast types may be associated with health outcomes and dietary intakes in various populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between breakfast types in Korean adults with their daily nutrient intakes and health outcomes. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 11,801 20- to 64-year-old adults (age 42.9 ± 11.8 yrs [mean ± standard error of the mean]; male 41.1%, female 58.9%) in 2007-2009 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey data were divided into 5 groups based on breakfast types in a 24-hr dietary recall: rice with 3 or more side dishes (Rice3+, 35.3%), rice with 0-2 side dishes (Rice0-2, 34.73%), noodles (1.56%), bread and cereal (6.56%), and breakfast skipping (21.63%). Daily nutrient intakes and the risk of metabolic syndrome were compared among five groups. RESULTS: Compared with Korean Recommended Nutrient Intake levels, the breakfast-skipping group showed the lowest intake level in most nutrients, whereas the Rice3+ group showed the highest. Fat intake was higher in the bread and noodle groups than in the other groups. When compared with the Rice3+ group, the odds ratios for the risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome were increased in the breakfast skipping, Rice0-2, and noodle groups after controlling for confounding variables. CONCLUSIONS: The rice-based breakfast group showed better nutritional status and health outcomes when eating with 3 or more side dishes. Nutrition education is needed to emphasize both the potential advantage of the rice-based, traditional Korean diet in terms of nutritional content and the importance of food diversity.

Food intolerance and skin prick test in treated and untreated irritable bowel syndrome.

AIM: To correlate the clinical features of treated and untreated patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to the results of skin prick test (SPT) for food and inhalant allergens. METHODS: We recruited 105 subjects to form three different target groups: treated group (n=44) undergoing treatment for IBS, untreated group (n=31) meeting the Rome II criteria without treatment for IBS, control group (n=30) with no IBS symptoms. RESULTS: SPT results were different among the three groups in which SPT was positive in 17 (38.6%) treated patients, in 5 (16.1%) untreated patients and in 1 (3.3%) control (P<0.01). The number of positive SPTs was greater in the IBS group than in the control group (P<0.001). The number of positive food SPTs was higher in the treated IBS group than in the untreated IBS group (P=0.03). CONCLUSION: Positive food SPT is higher in IBS patients than in controls.

Nutritional status of Korean male patients with alcoholic and viral liver cirrhosis.

This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to investigate whether malnutrition occurs in outpatients with liver cirrhosis, and to compare the nutritional status of patients with alcoholic and viral liver cirrhosis using a variety of objective measures. This study also aimed to provide useful information about nutritional education and nutritional therapies for medical teams and patients with liver cirrhosis. Sixty-six Korean men between the ages of 30 and 69 with liver cirrhosis (24 alcohol-related and 42 virus-related) were recruited from the Internal Medicine Centres, Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, Korea. The results showed that patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis (ALC) were significantly lower in socio-economic status than patients with viral liver cirrhosis (VLC) (P<0.05). The energy intakes (excluding alcohol-derived energy) were 1448kcal and 1769kcal in the ALC and the VLC groups, respectively (P<0.05). As well, vitamin C intake was found to be higher in the VLC group than the ALC group, yet still more than 125% of the RDA for both groups (P<0.05). Among nutritional indices, only the TSF thickness showed interaction with the aetiology and the severity of the cirrhosis (P<0.05). Thus, these findings indicate that outpatients with liver cirrhosis in this study, particularly those with alcoholic liver cirrhosis, consumed a lower energy intake than suggested, but may not have been in a status of malnutrition. Body fat is more affected than other nutritional parameters in patients with liver cirrhosis.