• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.12
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• pp.1327-1336
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• 2009

Increasing numbers of children and adolescents prefer undertaking physical exercise to overcome overweight or obesity. Children and adolescents are in the growth stage and require adequate nutrient supply. More calories and nutrients are required especially when they are engaged in physical exercise. Exercise is the only means to increase lean body mass and decrease body fat, but adequate nutrient supply is also essential. Lack of adequate nutrient supply causes muscle mass loss, menstruation irregularity, reduced bone density, fatigue, or frequent injury in children undertaking physical exercise. Here, I have introduced some guidelines on the nutrient requirement for child and adolescent athletes.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2011

Hypertension is a major risk factor of atherosclerosis which results in cardiovascular disease, and remains a major health problem worldwide. While children are more likely to have secondary hypertension, recent studies support the theory that the prevalence of essential hypertension in children and adolescents is increasing with the global epidemic of childhood obesity, and close attention is needed. Evaluation of hypertension in the pediatric age group should be guided by the age at presentation, and renal diseases must be considered in every child with hypertension, because of the prevalence of renovascular and renal parenchymal disorders as the etiology in any age group. The majority of children with chronic kidney disease are hypertensive, and many have associated end organ damage. Thus, once hypertension has been confirmed, end organ care as well as pharmacologic therapy must be continued. In renovascular hypertension, as cure could be gained with surgical/endovascular intervention, accurate diagnosis is important and it is recommended that every suspected child should undergo angiography.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.228-235
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of self-efficacy and health promotion behavior in obese elementary school children. Methods: The participants for this study were 280 students from seven elementary schools, located in Chonbuk Province. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients and simple linear regression were used with SPSS WIN ver 15.0 Program. Results: The mean scores for self-efficacy and health promotion behavior were $2.95{\pm}0.60$ and $2.99{\pm}0.39$ respectively. There were significant positive correlations between health promotion behavior and self-efficacy (r= .614, p<.001). The main predictor of health promoting behavior in obese elementary school children was self-efficacy, which explained 37.7%. Conclusion: The findings from this study indicate a need to develop nursing intervention programs to health promotion behavior in obese elementary school children including the promotion of self-efficacy.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.280-289
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• 2023

Purpose: This study investigated weight status in survivors of childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and identified related factors. Methods: A retrospective review of the electronic medical records of survivors of childhood ALL (n=230) was conducted. We analyzed the survivors' characteristics, including sex, age, weight status at diagnosis, central nervous system involvement, risk classification, length of treatment, radiation therapy, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Analysis of variance and the chi-squared test were applied to investigate influencing factors. Results: The weight status distribution was as follows: 23 individuals (10.0%) were classified as underweight, 151 individuals (65.7%) were healthy weight, and 56 individuals (24.3%) were overweight/obese. Age at diagnosis (F=10.03, p<.001), weight status at diagnosis (x²=43.41, p<.001), and risk classification (F=10.98, p=0.027) showed significant differences among the weight status groups. Survivors who were older at diagnosis and those in the very high-risk category had a higher likelihood of experiencing underweight status during their survivorship, while survivors who were overweight/obese at diagnosis were more likely to remain overweight/obese at the time of survival. Conclusion: Considering the potential health implications related to an unhealthy weight status in survivors of ALL, it is imperative to undertake early identification and implement interventions for at-risk individuals.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.121-129
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence and to identify risk factors of overweight among preschool children in Korea. The study subjects were 750 children, aged 2-6, attending child care centers in Korea. A measurement of the height and weight of the children, as well as collection of wide range of variables including general characteristics, and potential factors related with dietary habit for children and their parents, were conducted. Overweight was defined based on more than 110% of ideal body weight. A logistic regression analysis was adopted to identify the factors associated with overweight. Subjects were classified into three categories according to the obesity index : underweight(PIBW〈90%, n=34), normal(90%$\leq$PIBW〈110%, n=577), and overweight(PIBW$\geq$110%, n=139). The overall prevalence of overweight and underweight of the subjects were 21.3% and 4.0% of the boys and 15.5% and 5.1% of the girls respectively. Parent's obesity was associated with a higher risk of overweight on girls. Subjects o the third quartile(girls) and fourth quartile(boys) of income level had a substantially higher risk of overweight than did those in the first quartile. Fast eating, overeating, and food prejudice were also associated with an increased risk of overweight. The results of a logistic regression analysis showed that the eating habits and food preferences of the children were the most influencial factors on overweight. These finding may imply the importance of early stage nutrition education on rational dietary habit to prevent prevailing obesity of preschool in Korea.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.111-117
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• 2018

Purpose: The prevalence of obesity has significantly increased among children and adolescents worldwide and is becoming an important health care problem in parallel with the increased prevalence of obesity pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Betatrophin is a newly define hormone that is commonly secreted by liver and plays role in glucose tolerance. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum betatrophin levels and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in obese children. Methods: The study included 40 obese children with a body mass index (BMI) above 95th centile, and 35 non-obese subjects with a BMI 3-85th centile, whose age and gender were similar to those of the patient group. For the evaluation of metabolic parameters fasting serum glucose, insulin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, lipid profile and serum betatrophin levels were measured. Total cholesterol: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratios were calculated as "atherogenic indices." Results: Serum betatrophin levels of the obese subjects were similar to that of non-obese subjects (p=0.90). Betatrophin levels were not correlated with the metabolic parameters. Conclusion: In the present study, levels of betatrophin are not different between obese and insulin resistant children and non-obese subjects, and they are not correlated with atherogenic indices. To elucidate the exact role of betatrophin in obesity, further studies are required to identify the betatrophin receptor and/or other possible cofactors.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.346-351
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• 2017

This research examines 240 patients who visited a center a specific city, between July-September 2017. Subjects underwent body composition analysis and brainwave measurements, and were subsequently divided into groups according to BMI and body fat percentage. These patients were measured by timeseries linear analysis for their brain function and observed via brainwave activities. Results of the research are as follows: there is a difference in stress-resistance between obese and those in the healthy weight range. This implies there is a causal relationship between stress and obesity. In addition, the methodology used in this study, which is a scientific and objective physiological indicator of a scientific and objective physiological index, suggests that the results of the study are reliable. Results support that managing stress moderates obesity-related problems.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.12-22
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• 2021

Objectives: This study examined the association between the dietary behavior and weight status of preschool children and their mothers in Daejeon, Korea. Methods: A total of 301 mother-preschool children (aged 3~6 years) dyads were included in this study. The dietary behavior of children and their mothers was assessed using the Nutrition Quotient (NQ) questionnaire for preschoolers and adults, respectively. The NQ questionnaires were completed by the mothers. The overweight/obesity status of children and their mothers was determined using data on height and body weight reported by the mothers. Multiple logistic regression was performed to examine the relationship between the dietary behavior and weight status of children and their mothers. Results: The mean NQ score was 58.9 ± 9.7 in children and 55.6 ± 9.2 in mothers. The NQ score was higher in boys than girls but did not vary by age. The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 27.5% in children and 46.5% in mothers. The physical activity level of mothers and their NQ scores were positively associated with the NQ scores of the children. After adjustment for covariates, the mothers in the highest tertile of NQ scores showed a lower odds ratio (OR) for the unhealthy dietary behavior of children (OR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.11~0.53, P < 0.001) compared to those in the lowest tertile. The obese mothers showed a higher OR for children's overweight/obesity (OR = 3.38, 95% CI = 1.68~6.80, P = 0.001) compared to normal weight mothers. Conclusions: The dietary behavior and weight status of young children and their mothers were closely linked. Nutrition education programs targeting mothers are necessary for improving maternal and child nutrition. Specifically, these programs need to be tailored to the socioeconomic characteristics or weight status of mothers.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.98-107
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• 2022

Background: Various interventions have been tested to prevent or treat childhood obesity in South Korea. However, the overall effect of those interventions is unclear, as very few reviews and meta-analyses were specific to Korean children and adolescents. Purpose: We aimed to examine the overall effect of obesity interventions among Korean children and adolescents, while also examining differences by sex, age group, baseline weight category, intervention duration, number of intervention components, and type of intervention components. Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted for all intervention studies sampling Korean children and adolescents, with at least one control group and one month of follow-up, published between January 2000 and August 2020. Cohen d was calculated as an effect size for treatment effect, using the standardized difference between intervention group's body mass index (BMI) change and control group's BMI change. Results: The final sample included 19 intervention studies with 2,140 Korean children (mean age, 12.2 years). Overall, interventions were strongly favored over their controls (d=1.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12-2.09). The subgroup analysis showed that interventions with at least one physical activity component (d=2.43; 95% CI, 1.63-3.24) were significantly better than those that did not include physical activity (d=0.02; 95% CI, -0.26 to 0.31). Conclusion: Type of intervention component appeared important, though no differential association was observed by sex, age, baseline weight category, intervention duration, and number of intervention components. Korean and non-Korean interventions may be substantively different. Additional studies are needed to understand why and how Korean interventions differ from non-Korean interventions.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.129-135
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• 2015

Objectives : In children and adolescents, the prevalence of overweight has increased in the last 20 years. little research is available on the prevalence of obesity in children with autism spectrum disorders(ASD). The purpose of our study was to determine the prevalence of overweight among a clinical population of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders(ASD). Methods : Retrospective chart review of children ages 3-18 years seen between 2012 and 2015 at a Konyang University hospital psychiatric clinic. Diagnostic, medical, and demographic information was extracted from the charts. Body mass index(BMI) was calculated from measures of height and weight recorded in the child's chart. The Center for Disease Control's BMI growth reference was used to determine an age and gender-specific BMI z-score for the children. Results : In our study, children with ASD compared to non ASD group had significantly higher BMI percentiles (p=0.032). The prevalence of overweight($BMI{\geq}85th$ to 95th percentiles) and obesity($BMI{\geq}95th$ percentiles) was 35% and 19% respectively in children with ASD and without ASD. Conclusions : Despite noted limitations, our data suggest that overweight and obesity in children with ASD are more prevalent than without ASD. Longitudinal and further study is needed to examine the factors associated with obesity in this population.