• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.6-11
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• 2018

Purpose: Mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) is considered an alternative screening method for obesity. The aims of this investigation were to examine the ability of MUAC to correctly identify children with elevated body mass index (BMI) and to determine the best MUAC cutoff point for identification of children with high BMI. Methods: Anthropometric measurements (height, weight, and MUAC) from a cross-sectional sample of 7,921 Pakistani children aged 5-14 years were analyzed. Pearson correlation coefficients between MUAC and other anthropometric measurements were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine the optimal MUAC cutoff point for identifying children with high BMI. Results: Among 7,921 children, the mean (${\pm}$standard deviation) age, BMI, and MUAC were 10.00 (${\pm}2.86years$), 16.16 (${\pm}2.66kg/m^2$), and 17.73 (${\pm}2.59cm$), respectively. The MUAC had a strong positive correlation with BMI. The optimal MUAC cutoff points indicating elevated BMI in boys ranged from 16.76 to 22.73, while the corresponding values in girls ranged from 16.38 to 20.57. Conclusion: MUAC may be used as a simple indicator of overweight/obesity in children, with reasonable accuracy in clinical settings.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze differences in health behaviors among adolescents in order to provide fundamental data to develop an effective body weight control program. Methods: Secondary analysis was done using data from the 9th (2013) Online Survey on Adolescents' Health Behaviors by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The adolescents were divided into low weight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity groups according to body mass index (BMI). Differences in health behaviors were analyzed. Results: Gender, grade, socioeconomic status, perceived-health status, exercise, breakfast, fast food, ramen noodles, snacks, carbonated soft drinks, fruits and vegetables, satisfaction with sleep, stress, smoking, and alcohol consumption were significantly different among the groups. Ingestion of carbonated soft drinks and snacks was significantly higher in the low weight group compared to the normal weight group. Eating fast foods, ramen noodles, and snacks was significantly lower in the overweight and obesity groups compared to the normal weight group. Conclusion: Findings indicate that health behaviors among the groups differ from traditional knowledge about obesity. To develop optimal programs and improve efficacy, prior knowledge should be used to think differently and individualized programs should be based on an understanding health behaviors of adolescents.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.359-366
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was done to identify perceived body image, intentional caloric restriction and physical manifestations of unbalanced nutrition according to the Body Mass Index (BMI) in elementary school students. Methods: The research design was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Data collection was done by using a structured questionnaire that consisted of 34 items. Participants were 151 students in 5th and 6th grades of elementary schools in Gangwon province. Frequency and percentage, one-way ANOVA, and $\chi^2$-test with SPSS WIN 12.0 were used to analyze the data. Results: In elementary school students, over-weight/obesity and normal weight groups reported that they would be satisfied with a thinner body image compared to the present image. The score for intentional caloric restriction was significantly higher in the over-weight/obesity group than in the under-weight group. In physical manifestations of unbalanced nutrition, students in the under-weight group frequently were pale and had dry skin, whereas the over-weight/obesity group reported frequent upper respiratory symptoms. Conclusion: The results suggest that elementary school students need to develop the perception of an adequate body image and to avoid inadequate caloric intake if promotion of the child's growth and development is to be without physical manifestations of unbalanced nutrition.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.135-142
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• 2018

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This cross-sectional study assessed household food security status and determined its association with diet quality and weight status among indigenous women from the Mah Meri tribe in Peninsular Malaysia. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The Radimer/Cornell Hunger and Food Insecurity Instrument and the Malaysian Healthy Eating Index (HEI) were used to assess household food security status and diet quality, respectively. Information on socio-demographic characteristics and 24-hour dietary recall data were collected through face-to-face interview, and anthropometric measurements including weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) were obtained from 222 women. RESULTS: Majority of households (82.9%) experienced different levels of food insecurity: 29.3% household food insecurity, 23.4% individual food insecurity, and 30.2% fell into the child hunger group. The food-secure group had significantly fewer children and smaller household sizes than the food-insecure groups (P < 0.05). The mean household income, income per capita, and food expenditure significantly decreased as food insecurity worsened (P < 0.001). The food-secure group had significantly higher Malaysian HEI scores for grains and cereals (P < 0.01), as well as for meat, poultry, and eggs (P < 0.001), than the food-insecure groups. The child-hunger group had significantly higher fat (P < 0.05) and sodium (P < 0.001) scores than the food-secure and household food-insecure groups. Compared to the individual food-insecure and child-hunger groups, multivariate analysis of covariance showed that the food-secure group was significantly associated with a higher Malaysian HEI score while the household food-insecure group was significantly associated with a higher BMI after controlling for age (P < 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of indigenous households faced food insecurity. Food insecurity at the individual and child levels was associated with lower quality of diet, while food insecurity at the household level was associated with higher body weight. Therefore, a substantial effort by all stakeholders is warranted to improve food insecurity among poorer households. The results suggest a pressing need for nutritional interventions to improve dietary intake among low income households.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.146-151
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• 2009

Objectives : We conducted this study to investigate the relationship between sleep duration and body mass index (BMI), in Korean children. Methods : We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data collected on 3,639 boys and girls (aged 7-12) in Daegu, Korea. The data included each child's age, sex, weight, height, extracurricular activities, bedtime, wake-up time, sleep latency, total sleep duration, parents' occupations, and parents' educational levels. The relationship between sleep duration and each variable was examined via analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results : The analysis showed an association between short sleep duration and high BMI. Boys showed a graded inverse relationship between sleep duration and BMI. However, there was no significant corresponding result for girls. In the total sample, hours of computer use, time when the computer was turned off, time when the television was turned off, mother's bedtime, and hours of extracurricular activity were associated with longer sleep duration. No association was found between sleep duration and hours of watching television, child's wake-up time, or educational level of the parents. Conclusion : The results of this study show an inverse relationship between a child's sleep duration and BMI；thus, children with shorter sleep duration tend to have higher BMIs.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.262-270
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the correlates of maternal perception (identification and satisfaction) of children's weight, maternal body shape satisfaction, and maternal feeding styles in Korean preschool-aged children. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was utilized. Participants consisted of 287 pairs of preschool-aged children (3-6 years) and their mothers. Data were analyzed by ${\chi}^2$-test, Fisher's exact test, ANOVA, and the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: Among the 287 mothers, 47.7% underestimated their children's weight, while 15.7% overestimated it. 46.7% of the mothers wished their children weighed more, while 11.1% of them wished their children weighed less. The mean score of maternal body shape satisfaction was $83.75{\pm}28.77$. The mean score of parent-centered feeding styles was $2.95{\pm}0.54$, and the mean score of child-centered feeding styles was $3.33{\pm}0.42$. There were statistically significant correlations between maternal identification of children's weight and children's body mass index (BMI) (r=-.366, p<.001). In addition, there were statistically significant correlations between maternal satisfaction of children's weight and children's BMI (r=-.484, p<.001), maternal BMI (r=-.126, p=.033), and maternal body shape satisfaction (r=-.127, p=.031). Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that intervention programs for mothers to develop more accurate perception of their child's weight should be established.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.27 no.4 s.48
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• pp.665-676
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• 1994

The purpose of this study is to observe the longitudinal changes in BMI (Body Mass Index) of obese and non-obese 3rd. grade high school students in Seoul for 12 years and to see the trends of overt weight gain in obese adolescents. The results are as follows; 1. The average annual increasing rates of body mass Indices in male students were $1.14kg/m^2$ in obese group and $0.59kg/m^2$ in non-obese group. In female students, the average annual increasing rates of body mass indices were $0.93kg/m^2$ in obese group and $0.53kg/m^2$ in non-obese group. 2. The change rate of BMI for 12 years was significantly higher in obese group than non-obese group. 3. Puberty had less influence on the change rate of BMI in obese group compared to non-obese group. 4. In obese group, 71.8% of the variance in BMI at 17 can be predicted by BMI at 16 years in male students. In female students 44.4% can be predicted by BMI at age 16. 5. Among the 17-year-old obese students, 58.8% of the males and 56.2% of females were found not to have been obese at 7 years of age. 6. Among the 17-year-old obese students, those who were obese at 7 years of age were found to have higher BMI at later ages than those who were in the non-obese group. Obese adolescents were more likely to be obese in their childhood than non-obese group. There was no optimal age for the significant weight gain and the increasing rate of BMI was constantly higher in obese group than in non-obese group. Due to the fact that child obesity in early age contributes to obesity in adolescence, close observation is advised. On the other hand, a large proportion of obese adolescents can be preventable by early interventions, because about 50% of obese adolescents were not obese in early elementary school age.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.201-209
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible causal factors of obesity in women with child-bearing experiences in effects to provide optimal information for the prevention and/or treatment of obesity. Sventy one women with child-bearing experiences were divided into five groups based on the degree of obesity by BROCA method ; normal weight, overweight, and obesity which was further divided into three groups of light, moderate, and sever obesity. Various anthropomnetric measurements, overall eating habits, and dietery intakes were asessed for each groups. Out of eighteen anthropometric factors asociated with obesity, thirteen measurements were represented to be valid for the diagnosis of obesity. Body fat % which was analyzed by Bioelectrical Impedance fatnee Analyzer were 24.765, 28.05%, and 29.85 for normal, overweight, and obesity group respectively. WHR(waister to hip ratio) or BMI(body mass index) widely used index was also resulted to be valid as a predictor of obesity. Waist circumference which represents abdominal fat mass showed a good correlatin with body fat%. The analysis of dietary intakes suggested that the overintakes of total calorie may not be the only causal factor of obesity, rather the amount of daily protein, fat and carbohydrate intakes or the physical activity level would be more closely related with the prevalence of obesity. Further investigation considering more variety of food composition of diet and the activity level involving larger number of subjects would be needed.

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

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.341-348
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• 2010

Purpose : Body composition is important to define and manage obesity and undernutrition. Obesity is a significant health problem with medical and psychological consequences for children and adolescents. Body composition analysis (BIA) is a simple, rapid, noninvasive, and reproducible technique. However, comparative analysis of body composition has not been done in young children below 7 years old. The aim of this study is to estimate antropometric data and body composition by BIA, and to investigate the correlation between anthropometric data and fat mass or fat percent in young children. Methods : We measured height, weight, body mass index (BMI), fat mass, and fat percent by BIA in 1,376 children aged 3-6 years of whom 688 were males and 688 were females. Results : Fat mass, fat percent, intracellular fluid, extracellular fluid, protein, and minerals were significantly higher in the obese group. A significant positive correlation exists between fat mass and BMI or weight. A significant positive linear correlation was also noted between fat percent and BMI. Protein, weight, fat mass, and fat percent were significantly different among groups. Conclusion : BIA is an objective, accurate method to estimate body fat in childhood obesity cases. Fat mass and fat percent data acquired by using BIA highly correlated with BMI. However, a large-scale study is needed to diagnose obesity in young children.