• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.142-157
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a nutrition quotient for adolescents (NQ-A) to assess overall dietary quality and food behavior of Korean adolescents. Methods: Development of the NQ-A was undertaken in three steps: item generation, item reduction, and validation. Candidate items of the NQ-A checklist were selected based on literature reviews, results of the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, dietary guidelines for Korean adolescents, expert in-depth interviews, and national nutrition policies and recommendations. A total of 213 middle and high school students participated in a one-day dietary record survey and responded to 41 items in the food behavior checklist. Pearson's correlation coefficients between the responses to the checklist items along with nutritional status of the adolescents were calculated. Item reduction was performed, and 24 items were selected for the nation-wide survey. A total of 1,547 adolescents from 17 cities completed the checklist questionnaire. Exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to develop a final NQ-A model. Results: Nineteen items were finalized as the checklist items for the NQ-A. Checklist items were composed of five factors (balance, diversity, moderation, environment, and practice). The five-factor structure accounted for 47.2% of the total variance. Standardized path coefficients were used as weights of the items. The NQ-A and five-factor scores were calculated based on the obtained weights of the questionnaire items. Conclusion: Nutrition Quotient for adolescents (NQ-A) would be a useful instrument for evaluating dietary quality and food behavior of Korean adolescents. Further research on NQ-A is needed to reflect changes in adolescent's food behavior and environment.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2023

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the nutritional status and dietary behavior of adolescents from North Korean refugee (NKR) families residing in South Korea (SK), who are known to be at a higher risk of malnutrition due to their lower socioeconomic status and facing other psychological challenges. Methods: A total of 178 adolescents (91 males and 87 females) from NKR families were included in the analysis, and their demographic details such as age, birthplace, parental nationality, and duration of their settlement in SK were collected through questionnaires. Anthropometric measurements were also taken to determine their growth and nutritional status according to the 2017 Korean National Growth Charts for children and adolescents. The study used the Nutrition Quotient for Korean Adolescents (NQ-A) questionnaire to assess the dietary behavior of the participants. Results: Approximately 11.8% and 10.1% of participants were identified with malnutrition and obesity, respectively. The total mean score for the NQ-A was 50.1. The mean scores for the individual factors of balance, diversity, moderation, environment, and practice were 49.2, 44.7, 43.8, 51.2, and 61.5, respectively. Approximately 47.2% of participants had a low NQ-A grade. However, there was no significant difference in the NQ-A scores according to their nutritional status or duration of time in SK. Conclusions: Adolescents from NKR families exhibited both malnutrition and obesity. However, their dietary behavior, as assessed using the NQ-A, did not vary with their nutritional status. The unique challenges and related dietary behavior of North Korean adolescent refugees should be taken into consideration, when developing targeted strategies for nutritional education and health management programs.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.209-221
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• 2023

This study aimed to provide fundamental data that could guide high school students' night eating behavior by investigating habits of their night eating consumption during COVID-19 pandemic (From 2021/5/13 to 5/20). Association between their eating habits and the Nutrition Quotient for Korean Adolescents (NQ-A) were also explored. This study included a total of 604 students, among whom 441 students were identified as night eating consumers. Among all subjects, 30.5% consumed night eating 3~4 times a week, 27.3% consumed 1-2 times a week, and 27.0% did not consume any night eating at all. The high-night eating group had a higher score of total NQ-A than the non-night eating group for both male (p<0.05) and female (p<0.001) students. This was because male students in the high-night eating group reported significantly higher rates of daily dinner consumption compared to non-night eating group. Furthermore, both male (p<0.05) and female (p<0.001) students showed a significant increase in 'Moderation'. 'Diversity' was also significantly increased in female studies (p<0.05) as subcategories of dietary habits according to night eating frequency. These findings highlight the need for practical research to develop nutritional guidelines for night eating that reflect preferences of students while providing adequate nutritional habits.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.113-123
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• 2021

This study aimed to examine the association between sleep duration, stress levels, and dietary behavior in adolescents. A survey was conducted on 453 students (227 male, 226 female) in high schools in the Chungbuk area. The participants were divided into groups based on daily sleep duration: group I (<5 hrs/d), group II (≥5 hrs/d and <6 hrs/d), group III (≥6 hrs/d and <7 hrs/d), and group IV (≥7 hrs/d). To measure the stress levels of participants, the survey had questions covering a variety of areas, including school life, family life, social relationships, and personal evaluation. To assess the dietary behaviors of participants, the survey included questions encompassing the Nutrition Quotient for Korean adolescents (NQ-A). Among female students, the sleep duration group IV had significantly lower total stress (P=0.022) and significantly lower stress in the personal evaluation area than the sleep duration group I (P=0.004). In the analysis of NQ-A, among female students, the sleep duration group IV showed significantly higher scores in balance (P=0.004), diversity (P=0.016), and total NQ-A score area (P=0.007) compared to other groups. There was a significant negative correlation between sleep duration and stress scores in total students (r=-0.24, P<0.001), while a significant positive correlation was seen between sleep duration and NQ-A scores in female students (r=0.16, P<0.05). To sum up, the longer the sleep duration, the lower the degree of stress, and the quality of meals which can be said to be a significant finding for high school students.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.61-72
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• 2023

In this study, we identified the differences in food content watching habits and nutrition quotient in adolescent (NQ-A). A total number of 811 subjects were surveyed to establish their general characteristics, food content watching habits, and NQ-A using a self-administered questionnaire. In addition, the mediating effect of watching motivation between the type of food content watched and the NQ-A score was determined. The classification by the type of the food content mainly watched showed that 405 participants (49.9%) watched the Mukbang content, 244 (30.1%) the Cookbang content, and 162 (20.0%) another contents. Among the content watching motives in the Cookbang content group, information acquisition and enjoyment were predominant, whereas emotional satisfaction had the lowest frequency. Compared to the Mukbang content group, when the Cookbang content group mediated information acquisition motivation, the scores of the total, diversity, balance, and practice of NQ-A score areas increased. Compared to the Mukbang content group, the score in the moderation area decreased when the Cookbang content group mediated enjoyment motivation. If food content with accurate information and interesting content are produced and used for adolescent nutrition education, the education will be highly effective.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.263-273
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• 2017

Numerous studies have investigated quantifying dietary intake according to the weight status of children and adolescents. However, studies on differences in quality among diets remain scarce. This study compared diet quality by weight status and examined correlations between quality of diet and obesity in children and adolescents. Two hundred fourteen children and adolescents aged between 9 and 18 years participated in this study (Normal weight n=104, Obesity n=110). The data related to food intake were investigated by dietary records, Diet Quality Index-International (DQI-I), and Nutrition Quotient (NQ) and then compared with Dietary Reference Intakes for Korean (KDRIs). In DQI-I, moderation factor (control of unhealthy foods) score was 21.7 in the normal weight group and 19.5 in the obesity group. The normal weight group showed a higher score for moderation factor than the obesity group (P<0.001). Compared with KDRIs, vitamin $B_6$, folate, vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium, potassium, and zinc intakes were insufficient in both groups. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that DQI-I moderation was negatively associated with obesity (OR=0.77, 95% CI 0.69-0.87) after adjustment for age, gender, income, and total energy intake. Our results suggest that children and adolescents require nutritional education to understand the importance of vitamin and mineral consumption. Especially, education for children and adolescents with obesity needs to emphasize moderation of nutrient intake that can cause diseases with hyper-ingestion such as sodium and high calorie-low nutrition foods.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.198-209
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• 2021

This study examined the dietary habits and nutrition quotient (NQ) scores according to leftover food during school meal services among middle school students in the Gyeonggi region. A survey on the dietary habits was conducted among 405 male and female middle school students located in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province. The amount of leftover food in the school meals was surveyed using the visual method through a questionnaire over two days. The survey was conducted from July 8, 2019, to July 12, 2019. After calculating the average total leftovers of each student over the two days, they were categorized into the following three groups: the top third was the large leftover group. The middle third was the medium leftover group, and the lower third was the small leftover group. The characteristics of the groups that had leftovers were analyzed. Female, normal-weight, and underweight students accounted for a greater proportion of the large leftover group than male, overweight, and obese students. The rates of selective eating and compliance with new food intake were significantly lower in the large leftover group than in the small leftover group. A comparison of the nutrition quotient for the adolescent (NQ-A) scores of each group revealed significantly lower scores of the large leftover group for all factors (balance, moderation, food diversity, practice, and environment) than the small leftover group. Therefore, there are statistically significant differences in the dietary habits, nutritional quality, and eating behaviors of middle school students that are associated with the amount of leftover food during school meals.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.272-283
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Most child and adolescent food literacy measurement tools focus on nutrition and food safety. However, the importance of aspects related to the food system such as food distribution and food waste and their effects on environmental sustainability is growing. We therefore developed and validated a two-dimensional tool for children (8-12 years old) and adolescents (13-18 years old) that can comprehensively measure food literacy. The association of food literacy with diet quality and self-reported health was assessed. SUBJECTS/METHODS: First, we developed a food literacy conceptual framework that contains food system and literacy dimensions through a literature review, focus group interviews, and expert review. After a face validity study, we conducted the main survey (n = 200) to validate the questionnaire. Construct validity and reliability were assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: As a result of the Delphi study, content validity was confirmed for the remaining 30 items after two items were excluded (content validity ratio = 0.86). Eleven items were excluded from the EFA results, while the CFA results indicated appropriate fit indices for the proposed model (comparative fit index = 0.904, root mean square error of approximation = 0.068). The final food literacy questionnaire consisted of 19 questions and comprised 5 factors: production, distribution, selection, preparation and cooking, and intake. Food literacy was positively associated with diet quality, as assessed by the Nutrition Quotient score, in both children and adolescents and with self-reported health in adolescents.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.156-164
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• 2021

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between eating speed and nutritional status among Korean high-school students using Nutrition Quotient for Korean Adolescents (NQ-A). In this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted in 453 high-school students (227 boys and 226 girls) from September 2019 to October 2019 in Chungbuk area. Based on the self-reported speed of eating data, subjects were classified into a fast group (n=180), a medium group (n=184), and a slow group (n=89). NQ-A scores for each group were measured in each speed group. In the environment section, girls showed a significant difference in usage time of electronic devices, such as TVs and smartphones: the fast group spent significantly more time than the medium group (p=0.035). In the practice section, among boys, the slow group had significantly higher scores for washing hands before eating than the medium and the fast groups (p=0.022). This study suggested that eating speed of high school students is associated with health-related environment factor and practice factor of NQ-A, such as time spent on smart devices or washing hands before eating. The study results can provide baseline data for nutrition education on health management of high school students.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.361-373
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between stress levels and eating habits in adolescents. Methods: A total of 453 male and female high school students were surveyed to ascertain their stress levels, Nutrition Quotients for Korean Adolescents (NQ-A), and stress-related eating behavior. Results: The average age of the subjects was 18 and they were mostly from nuclear families. Their average daily conversation time with their parents was between 10 to 30 minutes. The average sleep time for female students was observed to be less than that of male students. The satisfaction level of academic achievement of female students was significantly lower than that of the male students (P < 0.001). The average stress level score for female students was 2.7 out of 5, which was significantly higher than the male student's score of 2.4 (P < 0.001). The eating speed of male students was related to stress levels. Both male and female students ate more and craved spicy food when under stress. All male and female students had significantly ascending NQ-A scores rising in the order of stress from 'low level' to 'medium level', to 'high level' (P < 0.001). There was a significant negative correlation between the stress score and the NQ-A score adjusted for general characteristics (r = -0.29, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Since stress and NQ-A were negatively correlated in high school students, higher stress levels can be associated with irregular eating habits and negative eating behavior. Therefore, stress management and nutrition education focusing on stress status are needed for adolescents.