Soo Jin Lee

Background/Objectives: Adolescents are increasingly exposed to food-related online media, with mukbang and cookbang representing prominent forms of such media. Mukbang refers to an online genre in which hosts consume food while interacting with viewers, whereas cookbang refers to an online genre in which hosts prepare and often consume food. In this study, these genres are termed as food-related online media. Adolescents who frequently view food-related online media have been reported to consume more energy-dense foods, with differences by sex and age. However, little is known about their association with beverage consumption. This study examined the associations between food-related online media viewing and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) among adolescents and whether these associations differed by sex and school level. Methods: Data were drawn from the 2025 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n = 27,104; M_age = 14.98 ± 1.78 years; 40.9% girls; 50.7% middle school students). Food-related online media viewing and SSB and ASB consumption frequencies were self-reported. Multinomial logistic regression models examined associations of food-related online media viewing with SSB and ASB consumption, stratified by sex and school level. Results: Frequent viewing of such media (≥5 times/week) was associated with greater odds of SSB consumption ≥ 7 times/week than infrequent food-related online media viewing (<once/month). The association was stronger among boys (OR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.39–2.31) than girls (OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.14–1.65) and among middle school students (OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.66–2.57) than high school students (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.05–1.56). Associations with ASB consumption were generally stronger among boys than girls and varied across consumption frequencies and school levels. Conclusions: Frequent viewing of food-related online media was associated with adolescent’s SSB and ASB consumption, although it differed by sex and school level. These findings underscore the importance of considering differences across adolescent subgroups when developing strategies to reduce SSB and ASB consumption.

Soo Jin Lee. Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition 2025;54:986-98. https://doi.org/10.3746/jkfn.2025.54.11.986

Background: The diet–gut microbiota–disease axis has been explored in infancy, but its role in preschool atopic dermatitis (AD) remains unclear. This study investigated associations between dietary patterns, gut microbiota, and AD severity in Korean preschoolers.Methods: We evaluated 75 preschool children aged 3–6 years, including 24 with AD and 51 healthy controls. AD severity was assessed by Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) and SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), and quality of life by Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI). Gut microbiota composition was characterized using 16S rRNA sequencing, and group differences were analyzed by Linear Discriminant Analysis Effect Size (LEfSe).Results: Based on factor analysis, dietary patterns were categorized into a Traditional Korean (TK) diet and a Processed food and Snack (PS) diet. Children with AD who followed the PS diet showed lower vitamin C intake and higher levels of Dorea and Anaerostipes (LDA scores: 3.4 and 3.9). This microbial composition was associated with greater sleep‐disturbing itching and poorer CDLQI (p = .032 and .041). Lower vitamin C intake correlated with higher Anaerostipes abundance (r = −.436, p = .042) as well as with higher EASI (r = −.52, p = .03) and SCORAD (r = −.41, p = .045). Dorea abundance was positively correlated with daytime itching (r = .42, p = .049).Conclusions: In preschool children with AD, a dietary pattern high in processed foods and snacks was associated with increased Dorea and Anaerostipes and greater AD severity and poorer quality of life. These findings suggest that dietary modification may alleviate clinical symptoms in early childhood AD by modulating the diet–gut–skin axis.

Background: It is necessary to evaluate the parental ability to achieve nutritional adequacy while avoiding allergens for children with food allergies (FA), yet this area is currently understudies. Our study aimed to develop and validate the Parental Self‐Efficacy Scale for Dietary Management of Children with Food Allergies (PSED‐FA). Methods: PSED‐FA was developed through a literature review and semi‐structured interviews refined by a panel of five allergists and five dietitians, and validated using responses from caregivers of children with FA. The construction of the tool involved exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis for model fit, and evaluation of internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha. Convergent and divergent validity were assessed using the average variance extracted (AVE), maximum shared variance (MSV), and average shared variance (ASV). Results: Participants included nine focus interview groups, with 114 individuals in the validation group. Egg whites (55.2 %) , tree nuts (35.2%), and peanuts (22.8%) were the most common allergens. The EFA identified three factors: preparing allergen‐free meals, knowledge of nutrition management, and management of food restrictions. The goodness of fit of our model met all the criteria. The tool showed high internal consistency (overall Cronbach's alpha: 0.902) and met the criteria for both convergent (AVE >0.5) and divergent validity (AVE > MSV and ASV). Conclusion: This study validated a reliable and effective tool for assessing parental self‐efficacy in managing the dietary needs of children with FA. This tool can aid health professionals in evaluating parental confidence and identifying areas for improving dietary management in children with FA.

Soo Jin Lee and Ho Kyung Ryu. Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition 2023;52:864-78. https://doi.org/10.3746/jkfn.2023.52.8.864

Lee SJ, et al. Nutr Res Pract. 2022 Jun;16(3):392-404. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2022.16.3.392

This study sought to investigate the dietary life of adolescents according to their household types and factors that could affect their health status using the raw data of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016-2018). 160 adolescents aged 13-18 in single parent households (SPH) and parents households (PH) respectively were analyzed. The ratio of SPH to the income quartile ‘high’ was 55%, but only 18.1% of SPH in ‘low’ and ‘middle-low’ was 59.4%. It was found that there was a difference between the subjective body type recognition and the actual body type. There was a significant difference in the rate of missing breakfast, 20.0% in SPH, as compared to 8.8% in PH. According to an analysis of the ratio of actual intake to the recommended nutrient intake, all subjects were found to have less than 100 percent recommended intake of energy, vitamin A, niacin, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, iron, dietary fiber, and potassium. An analysis of the effect of food intake on health indicators showed that grain and condiment intake affected fasting plasma glucose, HDL cholesterol, and systolic blood pressure, grain and processed food intake affected waist circumference, grain and alcohol intake affected triglycerides, and grain and beverage intake affected systolic blood pressure. In SPH, grain and processed foods were found to affect waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose, HDL cholesterol, and blood pressure. Also, grain and beverage intake affected triglyceride levels.