• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.28-37
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• 2019

Purpose: This study was conducted to examine factors associated with obesity among Korean adolescents. Methods: The participants were 436 Korean adolescents aged 12~18 years who took part in the seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016). The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, the $x^2$ test, one-way analysis of variance, and multinomial logistic regression using complex sample analysis. Results: Among the participants, 9.7% were classified as being obese, and 11.9% as being overweight. Several health parameters, including systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, waist circumference, and triglyceride, fasting blood sugar, and alanine aminotransferase levels, varied according to obesity. Distorted perceptions of body shape showed a significant negative association with overweight, and carbohydrate intake was negatively associated with obesity. Conclusion: These findings indicate that obesity in Korean adolescents was associated with lifestyle and health parameters. Therefore, intervention programs for obese or overweight adolescents should focus on preventing them from developing health problems.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.99-110
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• 1998

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of obese school children's life style habits in order to help school nurse in controlling and preventing the obesity by health education The survey group is extracted from the students of two elementary schools located in Seongnam city Out of 280 children randomly sampled, 102 children were evaluated to be obese and 178 ones to be normal by the standard of the 1985 Korea Pediatric Association Height and Weight Standard Chart The obese children group was compared with the normal one. For this purpose, the surveyors designed a self questionnaire to obtain the description of general background, exercise including play behavior, eating behavior, and family environment of the sampled children. The results are as follows The number of the obese children who took extracurricular physical exercises was significantly (p<0.05) more than that of the normal ones The significantly (p<0.05) more obese children went without a meal to control their weight than the normal ones. In relation to the degree of obesity, the children with the high degree of obesity watched the television significantly (p<0.05) longer than the ones with the mild and the moderate degree of obesity In gender relations, the obese girls participate in outdoorplays and physical exercises significantly (p<0.05) longer and more regularly than the normal ones, while no significant difference was found between the male groups The obese boys had significantly (p<0.05) their mothers occupying in a vocation. Combining television watching habit and mother's vocation of the obese boy, the obesity is resulted from complicated situation It can not be due to the simple absence of the mother, but rather due to the absence of a person responsible for controlling snacking and television watching time of the child Looking at the results, it is necessary for both school and home to actively involve in guiding children and providing an environment to modify life style habits and prevent childhood obesity.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.212-217
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• 2007

This study compared obese children's food group intakes with the new Dietary References Intakes for Koreans (KDRIs) food guides for 5th-6th grade school children. This study also determined the extent of sedentary life styles related with obesity in this area of children. This is it cross-sectional study of 799 school children. The dietitian sent a survey form describing the project and a questionnaire to the subject's family. The questionnaire included child demographics, family history of chronic diseases, the daily servings of five food groups, such as grains, meat and beans, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables. The daily or weekly hours of physical activity, television viewing, and computer usage were also surveyed. Obesity index (%) of the subjects was calculated, and children with an obesity index (%) equal to or greater than 20 were classified as the obese. Among the 799 participants, 50.7% were female. The percentages of the normal and the obese were 691 (86.5%) and 108 (13.5%) respectively. Obese children reported eating less vegetables (p<0.05), more high sugar snacks (p<0.05), and high fat snacks (p<0.05) than normal children. No significant differences in food servings of grains, meats and beans, and fruits, and dairy products between the normal and the obese were shown. Obese children reported fewer hours of physical activities (p<0.05) and more hours of computer usage (p<0.05) than normal children. Girls showed less likelihood of being obese (odds ratio, 0.575, CI (0.38, 0.87), p<0.05). More hours of physical activity significantly decreased the likelihood of being obese (odds ratio, 0.572, CI (0.35, 0.92), p<0.05). Family history of obesity almost doubled the likelihood of obesity in children (odds ratio, 2.653, CI (1.660, 4.241), p<0.05). In conclusion, frequent snacking, inadequate vegetable consumption, and sedentary lifestyle increased significantly the likelihood of obesity in children, which suggest that obesity intervention in this age group should focuse more on those variables.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.207-214
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to identify differences in physiological· psychological environmental behavioral characteristics between obese and control children participating in a health camp and to identify the factors related to childhood obesity. Methods: Two hundred eighty seven children aged 6 to 12 years were recruited from a health camp for elementary students in D city, Korea. Data collection was done on November 28 and 29, 2009. Anthropometric measurements, blood tests, and self-report surveys were conducted. Chi-square test, independent t-test, ANCOVA, and multiple logistic regression were performed using PASW statistics 18.0. Results: Obese children had adverse conditions for both physiological and psychological characteristics. In terms of environmental and behavioral characteristics, high maternal BMI and more than two hours of TV watching were significantly associated with high risk of childhood obesity (OR=1.11, 95% CI=1.02-1.21; OR=2.05, 95% CI=1.23-3.41). Conclusion: Through a multi-factorial approach, the current study identified the differences between obese and control children participating in a health camp and risk factors of childhood obesity. These findings provide preliminary data and perspectives on intervention research for prevention and management of childhood obesity.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.487-494
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• 2014

This study investigates thermoregulatory behaviors of obese children for their thermal comfort. Nine normal-weight children (NWC) and nine obese children (OC) participated in the study. All subjects were fourth-graders and sixth-graders in elementary school. An informed consent form was obtained from each child and his or her mother. The questionnaire method was used, and the experiment was conducted to determine the preferred amount of clothing at $17^{\circ}C$ and the preferred temperature at $33^{\circ}C$. According to the results, OC were more susceptible to heat than NWC, whereas there was no significant difference in their susceptibility to cold. There were no significant differences of the oral temperature and the mean skin temperature between the two groups, but changes in forearm blood flow were less in OC than in NWC. There was no significant difference in the preferred amount of clothing between OC and NWC, and the preferred temperature was higher in NWC than in OC. The results based on the questionnaire are consistent with those based on the experiment. A compositive study of physical exercise, eating behavior, and wearing behavior should be useful for developing programs for preventing and treating obese children.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.247-255
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate knowledge related to child obesity of child daycare center workers. Methods: The participants in this study were 360 child daycare center workers in 2 cities in South Gyeongsang Province. Data were collected from February to June, 2011, using self-report questionnaires including questions about the general characteristics of the daycare center workers and their knowledge related to child obesity. Frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, t-test and ANOVA were used to analyze the data with the SPSS WIN 16.0 program. Results: The knowledge scores of child daycare center workers about child obesity averaged 74.8. The domains of diet (0.87 points) and prevention (0.86 points) had high scores, while, the domains of general characteristics (0.64 points) and diagnosis (0.59 points) had low scores. Conclusion: These results indicate that obese education programs for child daycare center workers should be developed in order to identify and teach children with obesity appropriately.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.61-70
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the Health Promotion Life Profile of normal-weight and obese children, and factors related to obesity in elementary school children, and provide basic data for the development an obesity management program for these children. Method: The survey participants were 878 fourth to sixth grade elementary school children in Gwangju. $x^2$-test, t-test, ANOVA and multiple logistic regression with the SPSS program were used to analyze the collected data. Results: The Health Promotion Life Profile showed significant differences between normal-weight and obese groups according to food habits (t=3.305, p= .001) and exercise habits (t=-4.065, p=< .001). The Health Promotion Life Profile of obese children was also significantly different according to interest in weight control (F=3.044, p= .050), regular breakfast (F=3.699, p= .014), regular meals (F=6.868, p= .002). The multiple logistic regression analysis, showed that factors in obesity were significantly different according to gender, interest in weight control, fast eating, overeating and predilection for some food. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that items on Health Promotion Life Profile such as food habits and exercise habits should be included in education programs to prevent obesity in elementary school children.

• Korean Parent-Child Health Journal
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among TV involvement, body image concern, restrained eating behavior and self-esteem of middle school students in one city. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used. A total of 229 boys and 267 girls enrolled in the middle schools completed self report questionnaire in June, 2009. The data was analyzed by using SPSS/WIN 17.0. Results: Of boys, 24.5% was over-weight/obese while 12.7% of girls was over-weight/obese. Compared to boys, girls involved more in TV (p<.001), and showed more body image concern, and restrained eating behavior (p<.001), but had lower self-esteem (p=.020). A significant positive correlation between TV involvement and body image concern was found in both boys and girls. However, only girls showed a negative association between TV involvement and self-esteem, and as well as between restrained eating behavior and self-esteem. As grouped by BMI, both boys and girls showed significantly different scores in restrained eating behavior (p<.001). Conclusion: These results suggest that the increased number of obese young adolescent need a weight management program including control for unhealthy eating behavior. The influence of mass-media on distorted body image for adolescents should be corrected. Also, an intervention for young obese girls to promote their self-esteem needs to be developed.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2006

This study is to compare the prevalence of obesity between Korean-American children and Korean children, and to investigate the role of environmental factors in obesity development. Prevalence of child obesity is compared by their residence, parents' anthropometric data, education and occupation, and the length of immigration, and birth place of the children. A total of 593 children between the ages of 9 and 12 were examined. 262 Korean-American children (KcUS group) from New Jersey, USA and 331 Korean children (KcK group) from Seoul, Korea were compared. KcUS group showed a higher obesity rate (male: 12.6% and female: 8.2%), compared to KcK group (male: 8.0% and female: 5.1 %). KcK male children showed lower weight and prevalence of obesity than Korean-American male children who lived in the United States for more than three years. Korean-American female children had higher weight and obesity rate than Korean female children. Waist circumference and hip circumference were also higher in obese children in both KcK and KcUS groups. The children who live in America had an odds ratio of 1.69 to be obese compared to KcK, while those born in America and those who have lived in America for more than 3 years had odds ratios of 1.53 and 1.25 to be obese, respectively. This study found that environmental factors, immigration to America for instance, could playa bigger role in child obese development than the genetic factor.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.197-202
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• 2005

Resistin, adiponectin, and leptin are hormones secreted by adipose tissue and are known to play an important role in adipose tissue metabolism. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the levels of adipocyte-derived hormones (resistin, adiponectin, leptin) in obese children aged 10-12 years. The subjects were 102 obese children with obesity index (OI) over $120\%$ and 51 control children with obesity index less than $120\%$ were included for comparison. Anthropometric variables and serological parameters were assessed. Height, weight, OI, body mass index (BMI) were significantly higher in obese group than in control. Obese children showed significantly higher serum concentrations of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and LDL-cho1esterol and significantly lower HDL-cholesterol compared with control children, even though the values were within normal ranges for both groups. Concentrations of resistin and leptin were significantly higher in obese group than in control. Adiponectin and insulin levels were tended to lower in obese group even though the differences were not statistically significant. Resistin had significant positive correlation with OI and TG, and 1eptin with weight, OI, BMI, TG and TC. On the other hand, adiponectin showed significant negative correlations with height, OI and BMI. These finding showed that obese children had higher serum levels of resistin and leptin and lower adiponectin, and also these hormones had correlations with related factors of obesity, suggesting adipocyte-derived hormones has a role in child obesity.