학령기 아동의 비만도, 체중조절 건강통제위와 건강증진행위

Health Locus of Control and Health-promoting Behaviors among Korean Elementary School Children

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare health locus of control with health-promoting behaviors according to elementary school children's degree of obesity, and to analyze correlations between two variables. Methods: Three hundreds and sixty three elementary school children were participated from three elementary schools in Seoul. Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (HLOC) scale and Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) were used. Results: Obese children was 16.8% of all research subjects. Internal HLOC in over weight group was higher than normal weight group (F=3.611, p=.014). Chance HLOC in under weight group was higher than other groups (F=3.553, p=.015). External HLOC in over weight and obesity group was higher than normal weight group (F=3.553, p=.015). Correlations between HLOC in internal and external and health-promoting behaviors were significant (r=.347, p<001; r=.207, p<001). Also, children who did not have siblings and have obese parents showed higher rate of obesity, and lack of sleeping time tend to be related to obesity. Conclusion: External HLOC of obesity children is higher than that of normal weight children. Meanwhile, obese children with higher internal HLOC were good at doing health-promoting behaviors. Therefore, if obese children are trained for internal health control, it can lead to their health-promoting behaviors.