• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.289-305
• /
• 2020

Picky eating behavior is a significant factor in causing unhealthy eating and disturbing the growth of children. This study examined picky eating behaviors and food intake of 112 preschoolers aged 3~5 year, picky eaters (n=41) and non-picky eaters (n=71), living in Dobong-gu, Seoul metropolitan area, South Korea. Picky eating questionnaires and three consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls were collected from their caregivers. The difference between the two groups was verified using a Chi-square test or t-test and Pearson's correlation. Compared to the non-picky eaters, fussiness, satiety responsiveness, and refusal of food variety were significantly higher in picky eaters (P<0.001). Compared to the non-picky eaters, an assessnent of the preschooler's behavior and the caregivers' perception were positively correlated in picky eaters (r=0.749, P<0.001). The intakes of shellfish (P<0.05), vegetables (P<0.001), fiber, vitamin E (P<0.01), vitamin A, and folate (P<0.05) were significantly lower in picky eaters than the non-picky eaters. The major food sources of vitamin A and folate were vegetables, of which grains were the source of fiber, fats and oils were the source of Vitamin E, and root vegetables were source of vegetables in both picky and non-picky eaters. In conclusion, picky eating behaviors are related to different fussiness and slowness in eating. Therefore, it is suggested to increase the amount of meal and vegetable intake in picky eaters.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.462-470
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of infants' temperaments, maternal feeding behaviors and feeding practices in picky eaters. Participants were 83 infants (aged 12 - 24 months) from 'A' hospital (Seoul) and 'B' public health center (Kyunggido). Mothers completed questionnaires that assessed their own feeding behavior, feeding practices, infants' temperament and infants' feeding behavior. Picky eaters' demographics were not significantly different from non-picky eaters after adjusting sex and age. The average of thiamin, niacin and vitamin E intakes of picky eaters were below $75\%$ Korean RDA, whereas vitamin A intakes exceed $120\%$ RDA in both groups. Activity level of infants' temperament and disinhibition of maternal feeding behavior in picky eaters were significantly higher than those in non-picky eater. All constructs of infants feeding behavior were significantly associated with certain constructs of infants' temperament, maternal feeding practice and maternal feeding behavior. The pickiness of infants feeding behavior was positively correlated with activity level of infants' temperament, pickiness and disinhibition of maternal feeding behavior and negatively correlated with adaptability of infants' temperament. Findings suggest that maternal feeding behavior and feeding practices as well as infants' temperament should be addressed in nutrition education for picky eaters.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.103-113
• /
• 2023

This study investigated the correlation between parents' nutrition quotient (NQ) and the nutrition quotient of Korean preschoolers (NQ-P) of picky eaters (PE) aged five years living in Dobong-gu, Seoul. The questionnaire was conducted online by parents of 187 preschoolers between May 25 and June 5, 2020. PE was defined as an average score of 3 or more on the picky eating questionnaires; non-picky eaters (NPE, n=120) and PE (n=67). The correlation between preschoolers and their parents was assessed using the NQ-P and NQ, respectively. Compared to the NPE, picky eating (p<0.001) was significantly higher, and vegetable preference (p<0.001), NQ-P (p<0.05), moderation dimension (p<0.05), frequency of vegetable intake (p<0.05) of balance dimension, and processed beverages (p<0.01) of moderation dimension were significantly lower in the PE. The correlation between the NQ and NQ-P was related to the diversity (p<0.05), moderation (p<0.05), and environment (p<0.01) of NQ in the NPE and not related to the PE. PEs should increase their frequency of vegetable intake and reduce their intake of processed beverages. To increase the NQ-P of PE, parents should eat a balanced diet. Future studies on the NQ-P of preschoolers aged 3 to 5 are needed.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2021

Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the eating behavior, growth, and dietary practices of children aged 3~5 years living in the Seoul and Gyeonggi Provinces. Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were completed by 237 mothers of preschool children between April and June 2018. Z-scores for weight-for-age, height-for-age, and BMI-for-age were calculated to determine the children's growth status. Dietary practices were evaluated using the nutrition quotient for Korean preschoolers (NQ-P). Results: In our study, 29.5% of children were in the eating-small-amounts group, 46.8% of children were in the neophobic behavior group, and 61.2% of children were in the refusal-of-specific food group. Specific foods found to have a high frequency of rejection are listed in descending order as follows: shellfish, soy, mushroom, shrimp, vegetables, milk, eggs, yogurt, seaweed, meat, fruits, and fish. The eating-small-amounts group had lower Z-scores for weight-for-age, height-for-age, and BMI-for-age than the non-picky eaters' group. Compared to the non-picky eaters' group, the eating-small-amounts group of picky eaters had lower scores on the moderation and environment items of the NQ-P, the neophobic behavior group had lower scores on the balance and environment items of the NQ-P, and the refusal-of-specific food group had lower scores on the balance, moderation, and environment items of the NQ-P. Conclusions: Children classified with picky eating behavior had lower growth and development, lower diet diversity, less balanced food intake, and had greater difficulty in abstaining from eating unhealthy foods than non-picky eaters. Therefore, a lot of patience and intensive efforts are needed to encourage children to encounter, experience, and accept unfamiliar food. It is more effective to provide eating behavior guidance by gently encouraging children, than by being strict and forceful. Besides, since the eating behavior of children is influenced maximally by the dietary lifestyle at their homes, it is important to ensure that a healthy dietary lifestyle is maintained at home.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.130-141
• /
• 2011

This study was conducted to develop a nutrition education workbook to improve picky eating in children and to evaluate the effect of nutrition education using this developed workbook. The developed workbook focused on 2nd and 3rd grade students and consisted of five units. The contents included: multi-grain, vegetables (2 units), fish, and milk. The activities, including observation, and learning the roles and names of the foods, were developed mainly to increase motivation for eating a balanced diet. This workbook was developed from April to December 2008, and was applied at 15 elementary schools containing 1,674 students from April to September 2009 in Changwon City, Korea. We evaluated changes in knowledge before and after education on nutrition, eating behavior, dietary habits, and educational activities using self-administered questionnaires. The children demonstrated significant improvements in nutritional knowledge (P<0.001), eating behavior (P<0.001), and dietary habits (P<0.001). Most of the children answered that the education program was helpful and exciting. Based on these results, we believe that the developed workbook is suitable for children picky eaters, and hope it will be used in the field of child nutrition education.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.1-17
• /
• 2013

The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between young children's picky eating behavior and mother's attitudes, beliefs and practices regarding the eating habits of children. Using a sample of 304 mothers of four or five year-old children, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test a 7 factor model, which included mother's beliefs and practices related to the feeding of their children. Following this, a t-test was conducted to examine the differences between the feeding behaviors of mothers of both of picky and non-oicky eaters, respectively. The results indicated that picky eater's eating behaviors were positively related to the pressures exerted by mothers and negatively related to the mother's concerns about their child's weight and child's BMI. These findings suggest that the pressures mothers exert upon their children to eat, their child's weight and picky eating behaviors are correlated to each other.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.141-152
• /
• 2020

Homeroom teachers are not usually nutrition professionals, but they spend a lot of time with students in elementary school classrooms. This study was conducted to determine the association of homeroom teachers' nutrition education with the dietary habits of their classroom children. The subjects were 131 homeroom teachers and their 1,102 children from 17 elementary schools in Gyeonggi, Korea. Self-administered questionnaires to collect information on dietary habits were conducted in December 2016. The dietary habits were determined with the adherences to the Dietary Guidelines for Adults and Children, respectively, by coding the better diet life with a higher score. The significances between groups according to teachers' implementation of nutrition education (106 implemented, 25 not implemented) were analyzed by using SPSS at P<0.05. Implementing nutrition education was not associated with the dietary habits of teachers themselves, but their students. Therefore, the students of teachers who implemented nutrition education had significantly higher adherence to 8 items out of 19 items (P<0.05, P<0.01). More of the students considered themselves as non-picky eaters (P<0.05), tried to eat all the foods served at school lunch even when it contained unwanted ingredients (P<0.01), and agreed on the need of nutrition education (P<0.01), as compared to their counterparts. Conclusively, this study suggests that nutrition education delivered by homeroom teachers may be associated with more desirable dietary habits of students, even though homeroom teachers are not nutrition professionals. Therefore, efforts should be undertaken to develop and provide proper contents for homeroom teachers to use in nutrition education for elementary students.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.280-287
• /
• 2003

To investigate effects of the shared living on nutrient intakes,250 college male students who were living alone (104 men) or sharing accommodation with friends (134 men) were participated. Their average age was 22.6 years, their average height was 171.8 cm, their average weight was 65.6 kg and their average Body Mass Index (BMI) was 22.2. The caloric intakes of the men living alone or sharing accommodation were 55.9% and 72.5% of the Korean Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), respectively. The decreased caloric level of the group living alone seemed to be due to their decreased protein and fat consumption as compared to that of the group sharing accommodation. The group living alone consumed increased amounts of fiber for breakfast and half the carbohydrates, but more fat (p < 0.05) in snacks than the group sharing accommodation. The daily carbohydrate : protein : fat (C : P : F) ratio averaged 58.6 14.1 27.3, which is a lower carbohydrate and a higher fat ratio than the Korean recommended ratio. However, the group living alone was closer to the Korean recommended ratio than the group sharing accommodation. The food intake habits were evaluated as being poorer in the group living alone as compared to the group sharing accommodation, less frequent consumption of fried / pan-fried dishes, and fruits / juices, but more frequent consumption of instant / processed foods. In comparing the eating patterns of the two groups, the group living alone showed better eating habits, such as more“breakfast eating”and less“snacking in the morning, afternoon or late at night”whereas the group sharing accommodation showed better eating habits such as less“picky eaters”and less “eating out”. In the group living alone, their lower caloric intake was assumably due to their fewer side dishes, however they showed higher eating frequencies of instant i processed foods. Since the lifestyle of living alone seems to grow gradually among young men, we strongly recommend dietary education for them.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.111-126
• /
• 2008

The purpose of this study was to examine the dietary habits and nutrient intakes of school-aged children participating in extracurricular classes, to with regards to class schedule. Three-hundred and two students from Seoul were selected and classified into two groups. One group attended extracurricular classes less than 12.43 hours per week, which was determined as the average number of hours per week(AELT, n=147). The other group attended extracurricular classes more than 12.43 hours per week(AEMT, n=155). The average student age in both the AELT and AEMT groups was 11.9 years, respectively. In terms of height and weight, there were no significant differences between the two groups. AELT received significantly more hours of sleep than AEMT(p<0.01), and there were significantly more responses with regard to lack of sleep in the AEMT group than in the AELT group(p<0.05). In a survey on 17 clinical symptoms regarding health, the AEMT group had significantly higher response rates than the AELT group in the following sections: no appetite (p<0.001), dizziness(p<0.001), headache(p<0.01), tiredness(p<0.01), cold symptoms(p<0.05), and sore eyes(p<0.05). Meal time irregularity was significantly higher than AEMT than in AELT(p<0.05). Approximately 50% of the subjects were picky eaters, and 40% and 20% skipped breakfast or dinner, respectively. The average energy intakes for AELT and AEMT were 2122.2 kcal and 2061.5 kcal, respectively, and there was no significant difference between the two groups. AEMT consumed significantly lower quantities of protein, animal fat, vitamin $B_6$, calcium, and phosphorus(each p<0.05) as compared to the AELT group. Beverage intake was significantly higher in AEMT than AELT(p<0.05). The number of hours in extracurricular classes showed a significant negative correlation with the intakes of protein, animal protein, animal fat, vitamin $B_6$, folate, calcium, plant calcium and phosphorus(each p<0.05). The number of hours in extracurricular classes also showed a significant negative correlation with soy foods intake(p<0.05). These results suggest that continuous and systematic nutritional education should be performed in order to prevent and improve the unbalanced diets and problematic of dietary habits that may result in students due to attendance in extracurricular classes.