• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.19-26
• /
• 1997

The purpose of this study was to analyze the physical development and health status of 5 year-old children for more effective health management of preschool children. This study carried out examinations of height, weight, hemoglobin, visual acuity & dental examination for 5 years-old preschool children in Kwang-ju up, Kwang-ju gun, Kyunggi-Do from January to February, 1996. For height and weight, the data were compared with the 1985's Korean standard and the hemoglobin and visual acuity data were compared with the Korean standard. The results were as follows. The average height for 5 year-old male children was 106.3${\pm}$4.7(cm) and that of 5 year-old female children was 105.3${\pm}$4.3(cm). Sixty seven point eight percent of male subjects registered below the 50th percentile for the Korean standard height and 79.5% of the female subjects registered below the 50th percentile for female. The average weight for 5 year-old children was 18.6${\pm}$2.6(kg) for females. Also, it is estimated that obese subjects totaled 2.7%. For the visual acuity, 18.0% of subjects had weak vision in the left eye and 16.9% in the right eye. As a result, it was advised that these children undergo further examination. It was remarkable that there were so many anemic children. Children with a hemoglobin content of less than 11.9(g/dl) totaled 47.8%. It is anticipated that the results of this study will contribute to the on-going evaluation and subsequent planning for the children health management program within the health promotion program of public health center in Kwang-ju gun.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.11 no.5
• /
• pp.551-561
• /
• 2006

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of mothers' attitudes on preparing baby foods for their children's food habits and development. The subjects were allocated to 419 preschool children, aged 3 - 5 years. This study surveyed by questionnaire, which was answered by the children's mothers. Subjects were classified by two groups, active and passive, based on their mothers' weaning attitudes. In the active group, mothers tried to make a variety of foods for preparing the baby foods, whereas mothers in the passive group didn't try to make it too much. Family income was higher in the active group and the subject' mothers had more jobs than those in the passive group, whereas their parent's education levels showed no differences. According to Rohrer index, 2.6% of subjects were obese in the active group, whereas 7.7% in the passive group. These data were shown significantly different between the groups. There were no differences in mother's food habits and breast-feeding versus formula feeding between the two groups. However, children's food habits were shown statistically different between the two groups. Higher regularity of meals, higher frequencies of snacks at home, higher frequencies of fruit, com, sweet potato as a snacks and less instant foods were revealed in the active group more than in the passive group. The major problem of children's food habits was an unbalanced diet (52.7%) and the major reasons for unbalanced diet were the taste (58.7%) and the texture (23.2%). The active uoup used more fruits and vegetables than the passive group. Also there were significant differences to solve problems of children's unbalanced diets. In the positive group, 14.4% of mothers tried to develop new cooking methods for solving the problem of an unbalanced diet, but 8.2% did in the passive group. furthermore, 2.3% of mothers in the positive group removed unpleasant items of the food, whereas 6.9% did in the passive. The average nutritional knowledge scores on a 10 scale were 7.2 and 6.9 in active and passive groups, respectively, and they were statistically different. Mothers among the active group explained the knowledge for food and nutrition to their children more than those in the passive group. These results suggest that mothers' attitudes for baby food are an important factor for forming their children's food habits. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a nutritional education program, materials and new recipes for a variety of baby foods to mothers.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.651-661
• /
• 2008

The mother's obesity-related stress and it's association with obesity, food intake, and physical activity in both mothers and their children were determined. Based on self-reports from 470 mothers, obesity stress of mothers were scored by using a five-point Likert scale; only low and high stress scores were used in this study. The perceptions of mothers' weights and their children's weights, mothers' Body Mass Indices (BMI), and preschoolers' Weight-Length Indices (WLI)(%) were also determined. The obesity stress of mothers was significantly associated with the mothers' BMI (high stress: $23.5{\pm}2.4$ vs. low stress: $19.6{\pm}1.7$, p<0.05), but not with their children's obesity. Mothers with a high obesity stress reported a higher percentage of family history of obesity (62.1% vs. 38.3%, p<0.001) than mothers with low obesity stress. Compared to mothers with low obesity stress, mothers with high stress had lower correct-perceptions about their weights (p<0.05) but higher correct-perceptions for their children's weights. Almost 54.5% of mothers with high stress reported watching television 2 or more extra hours per day, compared with 32.2% of mothers with low stress (p<0.05). More children of mothers with high stress had long hours of daily TV viewing than children of mothers with low stress (36.0% vs. 15.3%, $X^2=10.491$, p<0.05). Mothers with high stress reported lower intake of protein-rich foods (p=0.01) and vegetables (p=0.039), but a higher intake of snacks (p=0.009), compared to mothers with low stress. More children of mothers with high stress reported eating high fat snacks or high sugar snacks everyday, but this was not statistically significant. In conclusion, high obesity stress in mothers were greatly associated with their BMI and their inactive life style, including long TV viewing hours per day and unbalanced food intakes, which can lead their children becoming inactive and obese. Special attention is recommended for overstressed mothers and their children, especially those who enjoy long hours of TV viewing.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.37 no.5
• /
• pp.1378-1389
• /
• 2020

The purpose of this study was to develop a integrated obesity management program and measure the effects of the program on obesity, life style, dietary self-efficacy and exercise self-efficacy among obese elementary school children. The integrated obesity management program was provided for the experimental group of 4~6th grade elementary school students for 8 weeks. The program included obesity related health educations based on behavior modification and self-efficacy once a week, exercise classes three times a week. Method: There were 30 children with obesity in the experimental and 28 in the control groups. The collected data were analyzed by the 𝑥²-test, independent t-test and repeated measure ANOVA. Results: After 8weeks of participation in the program, the experimental group showed significantly lower body mass index (p<.01), percent body fat(p<.05) and obesity index(p<.01), significantly higher life style (p<.05)), dietary self-efficacy(p<.001), exercise self-efficacy(p<.05) than those in the control group. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that integrated obesity management program is effective nursing intervention for managing child obesity.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.62 no.10
• /
• pp.374-379
• /
• 2019

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms have a major impact on individuals, families, and society. Therefore identification risk factors of ADHD are a public health priority. Purpose: This is meta-analysis evaluated the association between maternal prepregnancy body mass index and the risk of ADHD among the resulting offspring. Methods: The search identified studies published through December 2018 in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. The odds ratios (ORs) or hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) extracted from eligible studies were used as the common measure of association among studies. Results: A significant association was found between overweight women and the risk of ADHD among children with the pooled HR and OR estimates (HR, 1.27 and 95% CI, 1.17-1.37; OR, 1.28 and 95% CI, 1.15-1.40, respectively). This association was significant between obese women and the risk of ADHD among children and adolescents with the pooled estimates of HR and OR (HR, 1.65 and 95% CI, 1.55-1.76; OR, 1.42 and 95% CI, 1.23-1.61). Conclusion: The current epidemiological studies present sufficient evidence that prepregnancy overweight and obesity are significantly associated with an increased risk of ADHD among children and adolescents. These findings provide a new approach to preventing ADHD by controlling weight gain in the prenatal period, which should be considered by policymakers.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.11 no.sup1
• /
• pp.93-101
• /
• 2008

Management of obesity needs good rapport among pediatrician, parents and children. Through motivational interview, pediatrician should explore practical ways to modify the eating behaviors conducive to obesity. Imbalance between energy intake and consumption contributes to weight gain. Therefore decrease of sedentary behavior (screen time <2 hrs) and increase of physical activity (>60 minutes) is also important in management of obesity. The goal of management is the long-term healthy life though healthy behaviors. Creating a home environment that supports healthy habits and behaviors is an important key to modifying lifestyle behaviors. For example, increasing intake of vegetables and fruits, restriction of sweetened beverage, education of healthy selection of foods, and frequent family dinner may be advisable. Family members should change their own behaviors in order to help their children. Parents should be positive role model and monitor their children authoritatively but not restrictively.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.328-333
• /
• 2012

This study was performed to investigate the differences in food choice, nutrition labeling perceptions, and prevalence of obesity due to meal skipping in Korean elementary school children. A national survey was performed in 2010 to collect data on food intake frequency, understanding of nutrition labeling, and body mass index from 2,335 fifth grade students in 118 elementary schools selected from 16 metropolitan local governments by stratified cluster sampling. The data were analyzed using the SAS 9.1 and SUDAAN 10.0 packages. Students who consumed three meals for 6-7 days during the past week were classified into the regular meal eating (RM) group (n = 1,476) and those who did not were placed into the meal skipping (MS) group (n = 859). The daily intake frequency of fruits, vegetables, kimchi, and milk was significantly lower in the MS group compared to that in the RM group (P < 0.001), whereas the daily intake frequency of soft drinks and instant noodles (ramyeon) was significantly higher in the MS group than that in the RM group (P < 0.05). The MS group demonstrated a significantly lower degree of understanding with regard to nutrition labeling and high calorie foods containing low nutritional value than that in the RM group. The distribution of obesity based on the percentile criteria using the Korean growth chart was different between the MS and RM groups. The MS group (8.97%) had a higher percentage of obese subjects than that in the RM group (5.38%). In conclusion, meal skipping was related to poor food choice, low perception of nutrition labeling, and a high prevalence of obesity in Korean fifth grade children.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.249-261
• /
• 2019

Purpose: The neural processing of children with overweight/obesity (CWO), may affect their eating behavior. We investigated the visual information processing of CWO under response control condition, by event-related potential (ERP) study, an electrophysiologic study for cognitive mechanism. Methods: Seventeen CWO (mean age: $10.6{\pm}1.9$), and 17 age-matched non-obese children (NOC), participated in the study. Neurocognitive function tests and visual ERP under Go/NoGo conditions, were implemented. Area amplitudes of major ERP components (P1, N1, P2, N2, and P3) from four scalp locations (frontal, central, parietal, and occipital), were analyzed. Results: For Go and NoGo conditions, CWO had significantly greater occipital P1, frontocentral N1, and P2 amplitudes compared with NOC. P2 amplitude was significantly greater in CWO, than in NOC, at the frontal location. N2 amplitude was not significantly different, between CWO and NOC. For CWO and NOC, Go P3 amplitude was highest at the parietal location, and NoGo P3 amplitude was highest at the frontal location. In Go and NoGo conditions, P3 amplitude of CWO was significantly less than in NOC. Conclusion: The greater P1, N1, and P2 suggested hyper-vigilance to visual stimuli of CWO, but the smaller P3 suggested insufficient mental representation of them. Such altered visual processing, may affect the eating behavior of CWO.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.306-315
• /
• 2021

Purpose: Obesity is defined as the abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat over acceptable limits. Leptin is a metabolic hormone present in the circulation in amounts proportional to fat mass. Leptin reduces food intake and increases energy expenditure, thus regulating body weight and homeostasis. Various polymorphisms are present in the leptin gene and its receptor. These polymorphisms may be associated with obesity. This study aimed to show the association of leptin (+19) AG, leptin (2548) GA, and Gln223Arg leptin receptor polymorphisms with obesity and metabolic syndrome in Turkish children aged 6-17 years, and to conduct further investigations regarding the genetic etiology of obesity. Methods: A total of 174 patients diagnosed with obesity and 150 healthy children who were treated at Tokat Gaziosmanpasa Medical School Hospital between September 2014 and March 2015 were included in this study. The ages of the children were between 6 and 17 years, and anthropometric and laboratory results were recorded. Genotyping of leptin (+19) AG, leptin (2548) GA, and leptin receptor Gln223Arg polymorphisms was performed by polymerase chain reaction. Results: An association between leptin receptor Gln223Arg gene polymorphism and obesity was detected. Conclusion: Further studies are needed to determine the role of genetic etiologies and to indicate the role of leptin signal transmission impairment in the pathogenesis of obesity. We hope that gene therapy can soon provide a solution for obesity.

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