Introduction The purpose of the present study was to investigate current sugar‐sweetened beverage consumption habits in Korean adolescents in conjunction with their demo‐socioeconomic characteristics, and to identify variables that affect such behaviours. Materials and methods The study was conducted via secondary analysis of data from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Web‐Based Survey (the 11th survey). The dependent variable in the current study was the combined consumption frequency of three types of sugar‐sweetened beverages (carbonated beverages, highly‐caffeinated beverages, sugary beverages), and demographic (gender, academic grade, residence), sociological (father's education level, mother's education level, having experienced depression within the last 12 months) and economic (subjective economic status, weekly allowance) factors constituted the independent variables. Results Our results showed that the amount of weekly allowance had the greatest impact on adolescents’ beverage consumption of more than seven times a week. Increases in experiencing a depressed mood and allowance were associated with an increased tendency to consume ≥ 7 sugar‐sweetened beverages per week. Conclusion The results of the current study suggest that families and society should work collectively to motivate adolescents to consciously choose and buy healthy snacks. Furthermore, society should reach a consensus and invest effort to resolve this issue continuously and gradually, such as by presenting a standard for consumption of sugar‐added drinks and implementing regulations to ban sales to adolescents.

Background: Despite the demand for greater competence of dental hygienists in recent times, and the consequent standardization of systems in the organizations, there is a lack of a proper system for hierarchal positions of dental hygienists. The aim of this study was to identify the tasks performed by Korean dental hygienists in various work settings and hierarchal positions to suggest a standardized system for task-related hierarchal positions. Methods: A survey was conducted by sending questionnaires to 966 dental hygienists, and responses from 757 participants were included in the final analysis. The survey comprised questions regarding participants' general characteristics, tasks, current positions, and the internal policies or standards of the respective organizations to define these positions. The participants' positions were analyzed as frequency and cross-sectional analysis with respect to their general characteristics, their place in the organizational charts, the size of their workplaces, and differences in the tasks performed. Results: Data showed that 82.6% of the hospitals and clinics in Korea have organizational systems to determine the positions, and there was a significant difference in the systems according to the size of the health facility (p＜0.05). The standards or policies used to define positions within general or university hospitals were determined by internal regulations or bylaws, whereas work experience was the major determinant of positions in smaller dental hospitals or clinics. The main tasks performed by dental hygienists in Korea were dental assistance (81.2%), routine dental hygiene tasks (53.4%), and administrative tasks, such as reception and billing (46.1%). Conclusion: Most dental hygienists in Korea are actively involved in dental assistance. Therefore, their specific tasks and responsibilities should be standardized more effectively. The data obtained from this study can be used to establish a standardized position system.