Chitosan is the most abundant natural amino polysaccharide and is being used as a new source of dietary fiber. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of water-soluble and water-insoluble chitosan supplementation on blood lipid profiles and mineral status, including calcium, magnesium, and iron, in elderly hyperlipidemic patients. Sixty volunteers with serum total cholesterol concentration of greater than 5.2 mmol/L were randomly divided into 3 groups of 20 each. The treatment groups received oral chitosan, one group receiving …

Childhood obesity is the result of a long lasting imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. A major contributing factor is physical inactivity which is closely linked to bone health, cardiovascular disease risk, fitness and psychological factors. The school seems to provide an excellent setting to enhance levels of physical activity (PA). However, there is insufficient data from previous school-based intervention trials on how to enhance overall PA. It is also unknown whether an intervention aimed at increasing PA is effective in …

A-1766G polymorphism, for the first time, has been found in the sequencing of pooled and individual genomic DNA of Korean subjects at the 5′ flanking region of the UCP-1 gene. The effects of new polymorphism on body fat were elucidated among 387 Korean female subjects. It was shown that the genotypes AA, AG, and GG were consisted of 57.4%, 37.7%, and 4.9%, respectively, which was in agreement with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P= 0.327). The frequency of major A allele was 0.762 and that of minor G allele was 0.238. It is …

Background To investigate the clinical significance of serum citrulline in evaluating the remnant small bowel enterocytes mass and absorptive function in short bowel (SB) patients. Materials and methods Serum citrulline concentrations were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in 22 SBS patients and 33 healthy controls. Five-hour urine D-xylose excretion and digestive protein absorption were measured using HPLC and micro-Kjeldahl method, respectively. Small bowel length and surface area were …

Background: It remains elusive whether there are other causes besides body fat mass wasting contributing to decreased leptin level in cancer cachexia patients. This study attempts to explore possible factors influencing leptin levels in patients with gastric cancer. Methods: Hormones levels (including leptin, insulin, growth hormone (GH), insulin‐like growth factor I, glucagons, and cortisol), acute phase reactant, and body composition were measured in 88 gastric cancer patients and 24 healthy controls. All patients were divided …

For developing race-specific anthropometry-based total body water (TBW) equations, we measured TBW using bioelectrical impedance analysis (TBW BIA) in 2,943 healthy Korean adults. Among them, 2,223 were used as a reference group. Two equations (TBW K1 and TBW K2) were developed based on age, sex, height, and body weight. The adjusted R 2 was 0.908 for TBW K1 and 0.910 for TBW K2. The remaining 720 subjects were used for the validation of our results. Watson (TBW W) and Hume-Weyers (TBW H) formulas were also …

Objective: To investigate the relationships between respiratory function and osteoporosis, 132 premenopausal and 98 postmenopausal women were evaluated. Methods: Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Pulmonary function and anthropometric parameters were measured using a spirometer and a body composition analyzer. Results: Lumbar spine and proximal femur BMDs in postmenopausal women with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)≥ 92.0% averaged 0.83±0.12 g/cm 2 …

Grape contains flavonoids with antioxidant properties which are believed to be protective against various types of cancer. This antioxidative protection is possibly provided by the effective scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS), thus defending cellular DNA from oxidative damage and potential mutations. This study of healthy adults tested whether a daily regimen of grape juice supplementation could reduce cellular DNA damage in peripheral lymphocytes and reduce the amount of free radicals released. Sixty-seven …

This study was undertaken to evaluate the chemosensory functions of Korean elderly women and to document the impact of olfactory dysfunction on dietary habits and nutritional and health status. The subjects were 41 elderly females aged from 61 to 81 years and an equal number of young female adults was included as a control group. The smell and taste thresholds were higher in elderly subjects than in young adults. The higher the smell threshold of the elderly, the lower the consumption of meats, eggs, and cereals, and also the …

AIM: To investigate the sequential changes of body composition in the metabolic response that occurred in a group of patients with enterocutaneous fistula after admission to the hospital. METHODS: Sixty-one patients with enterocutaneous fistula admitted to our hospital had measurements of body composition by multiple-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis after admission and 5, 10 days later. Sequential measurements of plasma constitutive proteins were also made. RESULTS: The body weight, fat-free mass, body mass …