How does young women's weight perception affect their nutrient intake?: Korean young women's dietary consumption and nutritional deficiency.

We investigated the relationship between Korean young women's weight perception and nutritional deficiency to understand the effect of culturally fostered ideals of women's bodies on dietary life. We analyzed 585 participants' responses from the 2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey by using logistic regressions. Women who overestimated their weight were more likely to suffer from nutritional deficiency. Overestimating weight was significantly associated with increased relative risks of deficient carbohydrate and protein intake. The tendency of young women's low nutrient intake due to the distorted body image needs to be considered in the field of health care and education.

Study of acceleration of center of mass during sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit in patients with stroke.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to compare the center of mass during sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit activities in the timed up and go test between healthy subjects and patients with stroke. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty healthy participants and thirty patients with stroke volunteered for this study. Acceleration of the center of mass was measured using a wireless tri-axial accelerometer during sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit activities in the timed up and go test. Accelerometer data were analyzed using BTS G-studio software. [Results] The phase duration was significantly longer and the anterior-posterior, mediolateral, and vertical acceleration ranges were significantly lower during sit-to-stand for patients with stroke than for healthy controls. Further, phase duration and the mediolateral acceleration range during stand-to-sit differed significantly between healthy controls and subjects with stroke. [Conclusions] During training for the sit-to-stand activity, the focus should be all three balance dimensions, but during training for the stand-to-sit activity, the focus should be on improving mediolateral balance and asymmetrical foot positioning should be recommended.

Comparative study of poverty dynamics and income structure: Pre and post COVID-19 impact on households with and without disabilities in South Korea.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic, as an external shock, has affected the health and economic well-being of individuals. Vulnerable populations with limited resources have also been affected, exacerbating societal inequalities throughout the pandemic. OBJECTIVE: This study examined poverty dynamics in South Korea before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, focusing on changes in the poverty status and income structure of the population with and without disabilities. METHODS: We conducted a multinomial logistic regression analysis using data from the 14th and 16th waves of the Korea Welfare Panel Study. RESULTS: The results show that the pandemic had a significant impact on income levels, particularly for individuals who experienced poverty, and notable differences were observed in income structures between groups with and without disabilities. While individuals without disabilities relied primarily on business income and regular as well as irregular income prior to experiencing poverty, those with disabilities experienced a decline in irregular and private transfer income. In addition, the poverty escape groups with and without disabilities showed increases in regular and irregular income. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show how current population groups with and without disabilities have experienced changes in the poverty structure due to COVID-19. These results highlight the need for a comprehensive social protection system to address the external shocks faced by vulnerable populations.

Multilevel Factors Associated With Obesity Among South Korean Adolescents Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-necessitated lockdowns and school closures have limited social interactions among adolescents, which result in unhealthy behaviors. This study compared the multilevel factors associated with obesity among adolescents in South Korea before and during the pandemic. Method: We applied the social-ecological model and analyzed the 2019 and 2020 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBS), including middle and high school students. We considered factors at the individual, family, and community levels in the logistic regression. Age and gender-adjusted obesity (body mass index ≥ the 95th percentile) was the dependent variable. Result: The prevalence of obesity slightly increased from 11.31% before the pandemic to 12.48% during it; the odds of obesity were 1.12 times (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08-1.16) as high during the pandemic compared to before it. Several individual factors (e.g., age, gender, fast-food consumption) and perceived family economic status were commonly associated with obesity before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical activity and city type were related to obesity only before the pandemic. Downgraded economic status owing to COVID-19 was adversely related to obesity during the pandemic. Conclusion: Inclusive multilevel support is needed to combat obesity in adolescence during the pandemic and those economically impacted require additional support.

Consumers' participation in information-related activities on social media.

This study examined the relationship between consumers' characteristics and social media use, focusing on consumers' information-related activities such as creating content, sharing information, and providing feedback on information. The results showed that consumers' creating content, sharing information, and providing of feedback on information were affected by their digital literacy, need for cognition, and self-esteem. Information literacy and need for cognition had positive effects on engagement in these information-related activities, but self-esteem exerted a negative effect.

The influence of consumers' knowledge on their responses to genetically modified foods.

This study examined the influence of consumers' knowledge on their perceptions and purchase intentions toward genetically modified foods, and the implications of these consumer responses for sustainable development in the food industry. This study distinguished between objective and subjective knowledge and identified how an imbalance between the two knowledge types influenced consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions toward genetically modified foods. Results of a multinomial regression analysis showed that consumers with higher levels of education, income, and food involvement and more exposure to negative information about genetically modified foods tended to overestimate their actual knowledge level. The overestimation group showed a higher risk perception, lower benefit perception, and lower intention to purchase genetically modified foods than other participants. Consumers with less education and higher income were more likely to underestimate their knowledge.

Designing the shape of supraparticles by controlling the apparent contact angle and contact line friction of droplets.

Surface-templated evaporation-driven supraparticle synthesis is a versatile method for supraparticle fabrication. A supraparticle is formed by drying droplet of a colloidal dispersion on liquid repellent surfaces, allowing precise control of the size and mean composition of the supraparticles. The crucial factor determining the morphology is the motion of the contact line of the dispersion droplet on the liquid repellent surface. Here, we study effects of (i) the apparent contact angle and (ii) the contact line friction of a droplet on the shape of the supraparticle. In order to change the initial apparent contact angle of the dispersion droplet a surfactant was added to decrease surface tension. In addition, two different liquid repellent surfaces were used: a polydimethysiloxane (PDMS) grafted surface and a lubricated surface. Both surfaces exhibited distinctly different contact line friction during evaporation. As the initial contact angle of a droplet decreases and friction of a contact line increases, flatter supraparticles are fabricated. By using this simple manipulation principle, eventually, various shapes of supraparticles can be obtained, such as mushroom, hemispherical, convex lens, and disk shapes. This study presents fundamental and critical information that allow us to manipulate the shape of a supraparticle via surface-templated evaporation-driven synthesis that increases the scalability of supraparticles for use in a wide range of applications.