• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.555-562
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Childhood obesity has become a global epidemic. Development of effective and sustainable programs to promote healthy behaviors from a young age is important. This study developed and tested an intervention program designed to promote healthy eating and physical activity among young children in South Korea by adaptation of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mission X (MX) Program. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The intervention program consisted of 4 weeks of fitness and 2 weeks of nutrition education. A sample of 104 subjects completed pre- and post- surveys on the Children's Nutrition Acknowledgement Test (NAT). Parents were asked for their children's characteristics and two 24-hour dietary records, the Nutrition Quotient (NQ) at baseline and a 6-week follow-up. Child weight status was assessed using Korean body mass index (BMI) percentiles. RESULTS: At baseline, 16.4% (boy: 15.4%; girl: 19.2%) of subjects were overweight or obese (based on $BMI{\geq}85%tile$). Fat consumption significantly decreased in normal BMI children ($48.6{\pm}16.8g$ at baseline to $41.9{\pm}18.1g$ after intervention, P < 0.05); total NQ score significantly increased from 66.4 to 67.9 (P < 0.05); total NAT score significantly improved in normal BMI children (74.3 at baseline to 81.9 after the program), children being underweight (from 71.0 to 77.0), and overweight children (77.1 at baseline vs. 88.2 after intervention, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The 6-week South Korean NASA MX project is feasible and shows favorable changes in eating behaviors and nutritional knowledge among young children.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.140-148
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• 2013

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship of being from low-income families on children's behavior problems and obesity. Methods: The research design was a descriptive survey study, and the participants were 197 children from low-income families who took part in activities at a local children's center. They were selected through convenience sampling. The participants completed a questionnaire, BASC-2 (Behavior Assessment System for Children). Results: The results are as follows: 22.3% had obesity, a rate higher than that of children in general. Further, 37.3% had attention deficit problems, 33.8% had problems adapting to school and 49% had other adaption problem. There was a gender-specific difference with respect to all of the behavior problems. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate a lack of an identified child policy for behavior problems and health, and suggest a need for various programs and policies which could lead to development of behavior screening programs for children from low-income families.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2007

Purpose: This investigation examined a model to predict body mass index in order to prevent later development of obesity among adolescents. The hypothesized model was developed based on the principle of Social Cognitive Theory that social influences predict perceptions of cognition as well as behavior. Method: The 5,770 adolescents, aged 14-18 who participated in this study came from 11 separate school districts in Busan and Kyungnam province of South Korea. The adolescent surveys were administered in a group setting at the participating school. Of the 5770 surveys, adolescents with more than 10 percent missing data in the entire survey were excluded. The final sample contained 4,527 cases. The adolescents were included 2,250 (49.7%) males and 2,277 (50.3%) females. Data was analyzed Pearson correlation coefficients using SPSS 12 program and structural equation model (SEM) using Maximum Likelihood estimation was employed using Amos 5.0. Results: Social support directly affects cognitive determinants. Cognitive determinants directly affect behavior determinants which directly affect BMI. Cognitive and behavioral factors mediated the relationship between social support and BMI (GFI= 0.984, CFI= 0.974, RMSEA=0.031). Conclusion: Social levels should be supportive to help adolescents have healthier behaviors. This support can be accomplished by providing frequent support to establish positive cognitive factors as the foundation of the solution to prevent overweight and obesity.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.282-289
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• 2005

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between BMI, eating disorders, physical symptoms and self-esteem. Methods: The research design was a descriptive correlation study. Data collection was done by using a constructive self-report questionnaire, a total 231 elementary school girls were measured. The instrument was a constructive questionnaire that consisted 115 items. Data analysis was done by SPSS WIN 10.0 using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefncient. Results: The score of eating disorders differed significantly by the BMI : the score was highest in the group of obesity(F=4.53, p=.023). The score of physical symptoms differed significantly by the BMI : the score was highest in the group of obesity(F=3.16, p=.045). There was positive correlation between BMI and eating disorders(r=.247, p<.01), and BMI and physical symptoms(r=.186, p<.01). And there was positive correlation between eating disorders and physical symptoms(r=.253, p<.01). Conclusions: These results indicated that elementary school girls need more education and counseling on dietary. Also, to promote their normal growth development, the systematic efforts to reestablish the social standard of the beauty should be taken.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.117-125
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• 2017

Purpose: Little is known about the dieting experiences of obese adolescent boys, as the majority of studies on obesity in children and adolescents have included only girls. This qualitative study was designed to explore the ways in which male middle school boys attach subjective meanings to their obese bodies, and experience dieting practices in their everyday lives. Methods: Fifteen obese boys aged 14 to 16 were interviewed via in-depth, face-to-face interviews. All interview data were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Having a large build and increased strength that prevented bullying by peers had positive meanings participants attributed to their obese bodies. However, negative meanings existed as well, including feeling heavy and having no physical endurance, having a clammy and odorous body, and being bullied and vulnerable to disease. With respect to dieting experiences, multiple positive and negative subthemes were identified. Conclusion: The findings of this study show the intersection between adolescence and everyday life challenges for obese middle school boys in the Korean culture. Further, recommendations for healthcare professionals include a gender-specific approaches when intervening and planning programs for obese adolescents.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.145-151
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• 1998

The purpose of this study was to investigate the related factors to child overweight through investigation of children aged 6-12. Data on physical examinations, family history and dietary habits were obtained. Children were classified into normal(98 persons) and overweight(118 persons) group using the combination of height for age, weight for age and weight for height standard by the World Health Organization. Children's height, weight and BMI exhibited a significant difference between groups except children aged 8 for height. Unbalanced diet was a risk factors for overweight(Odd ratio : 1.765, 95% CI : 1.022~3.048). Number of brothers showed negative significance especially in two brothers compared to that of one(Odd ratio : 0.456, 95% CI : 0.209~0.995). But Birth weight, feeding practice, overeating, taking nutrition pills, sleeping time, mother's education level and employmental status didn't have any difference. We found out there were different risk factors between obese and overweight group. They should be divided into different groups in studying risk factors. And we should pay much attention to overweight children in order to prevent improving to obesity.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.95-103
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• 2016

Food habit forming the basis for a lifetime of food and nutrient intake is established in early childhood and has an effect to the child's growth, sociality, and obesity. A variety of nutrition screening tools exists for assessing the health and nutrition status of children such as the Growth Curve, for determining if growth is appropriate. Body mass index(BMI) as a more reliable index of overweight to prevent childhood obesity, and Nutrition Quotient(NQ) and eating behaviors questionnaire for young children and parents to estimate their nutrient intake adequate or not. Such tools are mainly used by health practitioners, such as doctor and dietitian to provide nutrition intervention services to children at risk, especially and are not easy to use for general parents, who need assessment at any time and at any place. We propose Growth Assistance System for infants and children, which is possible to assess their physical condition, nutritional status, and eating behavior integrated. To be convenient and portable, it is implemented over the smartphone as an application. The system offers the growth charts, the BMI curves, NQ and eating behavior questionnaire to take a monitoring and the functionalities operate well. We hereby expect this system support the normal growth and development of infants and young children. And also support for the health practitioner (dietitians and nutritionists) to take a role in providing nutrition counseling and education to children needing nutrition services.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.247-251
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• 2013

Children from low income families are vulnerable to physical problems including obesity, asthma, hypertension and psychological problems including depression, anxiety. This study was done to identify trends in welfare policy for children from low-income families and future direction for solving health disparity problems. Dream Start is a government-sponsored project that offers services for vulnerable children, ages 0 (include pregnant woman) to 12 years and their families. The Korean Government has made an effort to alleviate health disparity through the 'Health Plan' by establishing health objectives. However, in spite of these efforts by the Korean government, health disparity has worsened in Korea. In order to strengthen family function as well as promote growth and development for vulnerable children, experts in child care need to be significantly involved in identifying neglected children in the community.

• Korean Journal of Exercise Nutrition
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.81-86
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors associated with child's Body Mass Index (BMI) and physical activity. The participants (n = 133) were Korean juveniles (3^rd and 4^th graders) and their parents. They completed a questionnaire packet including the SPARK (Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids) survey and the parent equivalent survey. Correlation, multiple linear regression and binary logistic regression analyses were applied to identify the association between child's BMI and 10 factors of SPARK as predict or variables. 25.6% of the participants were classified as overweight (21.1%) or obesity (4.5%). 3 parental factors including mother's BMI and frequency of mother's and father's physical activity were identified as significant predictors of children's BMI. The 10 variables accounted for 28% of the variance (p<.01) in the linear regression model. These results provide insight into parental factors which are related to a child's BMI and physical activity. Parental role modeling which refers to parents' efforts to model an active lifestyle for children plays an important role.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.18-31
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• 2000

Recently, the number of obese people have been increasing due to westernized diets and increased sedentary activity. In particular, obese adolescent have been newly recognized as having significant health problems. This study focuses on determining the gender difference of obese adolescents through implementation of a structured questionnaire on general characteristics, attitudes toward dieting, eating habits and emotional depression due to obesity. Data collection was carried out by 291 students in attendance at 3 high schools in Pusan from 11. 2. 1998 to 11. 30. 1998. The targets were 148 boys and 143 girls who were judged as obese in the school's physical check-up. The test of reliability of this research was calculated by chronbach's α. Data analysis was managed by computer and statistics by SPSS/WIN. The results of the survey are as follows: 1. For the questionnaire regarding attitudes toward dieting which include 28 items, 10 out of 28 items (about 36%)showed gender difference. 2. For the questionnaire regarding eating habits which include 17 items, 5 out of 17 items (about 30%)showed gender difference. 3.For the questionnaire regarding emotional depression about obesity, 30.6% of boys and 27.3% girls answered but no statistical significance. The results of this survey indicated that this study will be important as a good guideline for treating obese adolescents. It is hoped that much more research on gender difference in obese adolescents will be implemented in the future. In addition, the development of effective treatments for obesity should be based on the gender of the adolescent.