• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.559-568
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• 2019

Purpose: This study examined the prevalence of food allergies and allergenic factors in a selected sample of children living in Seoul, Korea, along with their dietary habits, environmental factors, and diseases as risk factors for food allergy. The results of this study will provide basic data for addressing food allergies. Methods: We selected 3,004 pre-school and school-age children, aged 0 ~ 12, in the 25 districts of Seoul as the study sample. Structured self-report questionnaires were administered over a two-month period in July-August 2018, and the children's parents recorded the answers on their children's behalf. The research tools in this study included the Korean version of the questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Results: The physician-diagnosed prevalence rate of food allergies was 14.2%, while 20.4% of the children experienced allergic symptoms at least once and 17.4% reported symptoms within the previous 12 months. The children's symptoms included skin problems (88.1%), gastrointestinal issues (19.2%), oral issues (16.7%), respiratory issues (12.7%), and systemic issues (1.3%). The causes of allergies included eggs, peaches, milk, peanuts, and shrimps. The factors influencing the experience of food allergies were the consumption of cereal (aOR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.09 ~ 2.10; p = 0.013), potatoes (aOR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.33 ~ 2.65; p < 0.001), and fast food (aOR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.10 ~ 2.72; p = 0.017). Having food allergy symptoms was associated with a higher risk of experiencing asthma (aOR, 4.22 95% CI, 3.10 ~ 5.76; p < 0.001), allergic rhinitis (aOR, 2.53; 95% CI, 2.03 ~ 3.15; p < 0.001), and atopic dermatitis symptoms (aOR, 3.56; 95% CI, 2.88 ~ 4.40; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Episodes of food allergies warrant examining regular food consumption and placing dietary restrictions through early diagnosis as these episodes may imply the presence of other allergies. Our findings offer basic insights into the patterns, prevalence and symptoms of children's food allergies in Seoul, and our findings will contribute to identifying effective interventions for food allergies.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.285-296
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• 2019

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the factors affecting vegetable preferences of children based on the social cognitive theory to reduce imbalances in vegetable consumption. Methods: The survey investigated 177 elementary school students in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, in June of 2018. The subjects consisted of 44 fifth graders (27.7%) and 128 (72.3%) sixth graders. Results: Among personal factors of the Social Cognitive Theory, positive outcome expectation and self-efficacy of the vegetable preference group were significantly higher than those of the non-preference group. Negative barrier scores of the non-preference group were significantly higher than those of the preference group, and the biggest barrier was that vegetables were tasteless. Among behavioral factors, the nutritional knowledge of vegetables was high, but the degree of practice was low. Practice score of the vegetable preference group was significantly higher than that of the non-preference group. Among environmental factors, the vegetable preference group was more likely to accept advice from people around them than the non-preference group and the most influential people were doctors and parents. In the vegetable intake environment, children in the vegetable preference group had high accessibility to vegetables. Correlation analysis and regression analysis of the social cognitive factors and vegetable preferences revealed all factors except nutritional knowledge showed significant correlation with vegetable preference. And surrounding people (p < 0.01), practice (p < 0.01), and self-efficacy (p < 0.05) had positive effects on vegetable preference. Conclusion: These results suggest that providing the health benefits from eating vegetables and educating children for improving their self-confidence are necessary for increasing the preference for vegetables and their intake by children.

• Korean Journal of School Psychology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.17-38
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• 2020

This study examined the factor structure of the Child Behavior Checklist Dysregulation Profile(CBCL-DP) for school-aged children in Korea identified differences in the level of maladjustment and problematic behaviors between the clinical group which had characteristics of CBCL-DP and the control group which did not. Confirmative factor analysis was performed on three alternative models from the literature to determine which was the most appropriate factor structure for the CBCL-DP. The result showed that the bi-factor model fit the sample data better than both the one and second-factor models. To confirm that the bi-factor model was the most appropriate factor structure, regression paths with relevant variables examined. The showed that CBCL-DP with the bi-factor model was associated with executive function difficulty as reported by parents and with school adjustment and all sub-factors of strength and difficulty as reported by teachers. The results also showed that this model had a different relationship with anxiety/depression, aggressive behavior, and attention problems than the other models. The clinical group was shown to have more executive function difficulty, worse adjustment of school life and to be less likely to engage in desired behaviors than the control group. These results indicate the CBCL-DP is more related to negative outcomes than any other factor, and that the bi-factor model was found to best fit the sample data, consistent with other studies. The early discovery of CBCL-DP can be used to provide interventions for high-risk children who exhibit emotional and behavioral problems, making its detection a significant diagnostic tool. The implications of these result, the limitations of this study, and areas for future research are discussed in this paper.