Journal List > Korean J Community Nutr > v.19(6) > 1038487

Kwak, Lee, Lee, and Ko: A Survey for Needs and Preference of Food and Nutrition information on Mass Media for Korean Female Adults

Abstract

Objectives

This study was conducted to examine the preferences and needs of typical Korean females adults for food and nutrition information provided by the mass media.

Methods

A total of 343 females (77 in their 20s, 85 in their 30s, 88 in their 40s and 93 in their 50s) residing in the Seoul/Gyeonggido area was surveyed on general characteristics, main sources of food and nutrition information and needs for sources and contents of nutrition information.

Results

The survey showed that typical Korean females obtained knowledge of food and nutrition mainly through the Internet (30.4%) and broadcasting (29.0%). Typical Korean females were interested in 'dietary management for weight control' (21.9%), 'the prevention and treatment of disease' (20.0%), 'food safety' (16.8%), 'proper dietary habits' (14.6%), 'cookery' (11.8%), 'functional foods' (9.6%), 'restaurant details' (3.5%) and 'life-cycle-specific dietary guideline' (1.6%). Needs for food and nutrition program forms on TV were 'educational programs' (34.3%), 'documentaries' (20.8), 'expert lecture-style' (13.0%), 'entertainment programs' (11.9%), 'expert conversation' (11.4%), 'news-style' (4.6%) and 'public campaign advertisements' (4.0%). On the Internet, 38.6% of the respondents preferred to get information provided by food and nutrition-related institutions (38.6%) while 26.1% preferred webtoons for nutritional information. The favored forms in mobile applications were 'monitoring their diets' (29.5%), 'data-based texts information' (21.4%), 'experts feedback' (20.6%), 'communities' (15.1%) and 'games' (13.1%). The rates of the preference to obtain information from experts such as nutritionists and dietitians and doctors - or dietitian turned reporters increased markedly with older ages.

Conclusions

Since the mass media is a main source of food and nutrition information for the general public, the effectiveness and accuracy of the information provided should be enhanced by taking the needs of the public into account. The quality of information should be improved by involving more nutrition experts.

Figures and Tables

Table 1
General characteristics of the subjects participating in the survey
kjcn-19-550-i001
Table 2
Main sources of mass media for foods and nutrition information in accordance with the general characteristics
kjcn-19-550-i002

*: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01 by χ2-test

Table 3
Needs of the subjects for food and nutrition information
kjcn-19-550-i003

Multiple responses (Choose two)

Table 4
Needs for food and nutrition program forms on TV
kjcn-19-550-i004

Multiple responses (Choose two)

Table 5
Needs for food and nutrition information forms on the internet
kjcn-19-550-i005

Multiple responses (Choose two)

Table 6
Needs for food and nutrition information forms of mobile applications
kjcn-19-550-i006

Multiple responses (Choose two)

Table 7
Needs for provider qualification of food and nutrition information in accordance with the general characteristics
kjcn-19-550-i007

*: p < 0.05 by χ2-test

References

1. Cho JS, Kim KN. Influence of entrance examinees' eating behavior on their health condition. Korean J Hum Ecol. 1993; 2(1):25–31.
2. Cho KH, Choi BS, Seo JY, Park GS, Lee IS. The usage of diet and nutritional information on the internet by users' age. J East Asian Soc Diet Life. 2006; 16(5):542–549.
3. Choi CJ, Kim KS, Kim HG, No YG, Lee MJ, Kim SJ. A study on use of health care information resources. J Korean Med Assoc. 2003; 46(7):651–660.
4. Han SJ, Seo EY, Kim WK. A comparative study on acquiring and using patterns of information about food and nutrition between medical personnel and non-medical personnel. J East Asian Soc Diet Life. 2004; 14(3):302–308.
5. International Food Information Council Foundation. Improving public understanding: guidelines for communicating emerging science on nurition, food safety, and health. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1998; 90(3):194–199.
6. Jang YJ, Moon HK. Analysis of food and nutrition informations in television programs. In : Proceedings of 2003 Autumn Symposium of the Korean Society of Community Nutrition; 2003. p. 1086–1087.
7. Jeon EM. The effect of food and nutrition informations for mass media on nutritional knowledge of adult. Sookmyung women's University;2008. 1–102. MS thesis.
8. Jo JK, Son CG, Song TM, Shin CW, Yoon GW, Lee NH, Lee SY, Lee YH, Jung MS, Jo SY. The fourth Seoul Citizens Health Indicators Survey - Health Knowledge and Behaviors -. Seoul: The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs;2010. p. 1–424.
9. Kang HK, Kang MH, Yu KH, Ly SY. Monitoring of on-line nutrition information-analysis of meta data. Korean J Nutr. 2004; 37(8):688–700.
10. Kang NM, Hyun TS. A strategy for improvement of health and nutrition management of Korean women. J Korean Acad Soc Nurs Educ. 1998; 4(1):28–37.
11. Kim CI. Reality of report about nutrition. Korean J Nutr. 1998; 31(4):834–835.
12. Kim SJ. Analysis of Viewing Behaviors and Needs for Health Information Program on Television. Ewha Womans University;2005. 1–75. MS thesis.
13. Kim SJ. Study on state and development direction of healthcare/pharmaceutical newspapers. Hanyang University;2009. 1–85. MS thesis.
14. Lee HY, Lim TY, Lee JH, Park MK, Chae MJ, Bae HJ. Assessment using practices and quality of food safety information on the internet. Korean J Food Cookery Sci. 2010; 26(3):229–237.
15. Lee JW, Kim JD, Ji AL. A present condition of smartphone health applications. In : Proceedings of 2010 Symposium of the Korean Society of Design; 2010. p. 210–211.
16. Lee JW, Lee BK. Analyzing the producer's attitudes toward specialists advice and the panelist constitution of nutrition-related TV programs. Korean J Community Nutr. 1998; 3(2):317–328.
17. Lee JY, Yoo HS. A study on health program of broadcasting media. J Korean Soc Health Educ Promot. 2002; 19(3):35–49.
18. Lee YM, Back SR, Park HJ, Shim KS, Lee HJ, Chun HK. Consumer needs for well-being food related information by sociodemographic characteristics. Korean J Community Living Sci. 2006; 17(3):175–182.
19. Lim DW, Yoon SN. Understanding and use of media monitoring. Seoul: communication books;1998. p. 1–180.
20. Moon HK, Min JH, Kim JN. Monitoring diet and health related content in terrestrial TV programs for young children. J Korean Health Educ Promot. 2010; 27(3):85–96.
21. Park SJ, Lee YH. Effects of media on nutritional knowledge and dietary behavior. J East Asian Soc Diet Life. 1998; 8(2):137–146.
22. Purcell GP, Wilson P, Delanothe T. The quality of health information on the internet. Br Med J. 2002; 324:557–558.
23. Wanisnk B. Position of the American dietetic association:food and nutrition misinformation. J Am Diet Assoc. 2006; 106(4):601–607.
24. Yong MJ, Moon HK. Analysis of food and nutrition informations for the public in the newspaper and magazine. In : Proceeding of 2002 Autumn Symposium of the Korean Society of Community Nutririon; 2002. p. 962.
25. Yoon EY, Ji SM, Seo JS, Kim KW, Bae HJ. Monitoring of nutrition information on TV. In : Proceedings of 2004 Autumn Symposium of the Korean Society of Community Nutrition; 2004. p. 131.
26. Yoon JS. Mass media for proliferation of nutrition information: role of professional and government. Korean J Nutr. 1998; 31(4):836–839.
27. Yoo HJ, Song KH. A study on the nutritional knowledge, attitudes, and dietary patterns of housewives in Seoul. Fam Environ Res. 1990; 28(2):47–55.
TOOLS
Similar articles