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Frontiers of Medicine

ISSN 2095-0217

ISSN 2095-0225(Online)

CN 11-5983/R

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Front. Med.    2018, Vol. 12 Issue (6) : 707-716    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11684-018-0660-x
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Analyzing the distinguishing factors that affect childhood obesity in South Korea
So Jung Yang1, Hun-Sung Kim1,2, Kun-Ho Yoon1,2()
1. Department of Medical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
2. Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
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Abstract

Understanding obesity in children is crucial because it can lead to adulthood obesity and result in fatal chronic diseases. Distinctive factors associated with obesity in adults have been described, but distinctive factors related to children remain unclear. We analyzed the correlation between the percentage of body mass index and lifestyle habits by conducting surveys on physical, nutritional, and psychological factors, and we used annual physical examination data to compare different traits among elementary school students (n = 197) and middle school students (n = 461). Our study revealed that the computing hours in elementary school students with overweight and obesity were significantly correlated with the percentage of body mass index (r = 0.29 on school days and r = 0.35 on days off, all P<0.05). No statistically significant difference was found (all P>0.05) in the computing hours of middle school students with overweight and obesity. Childhood obesity can cause depression and reduce children’s quality of life because of their distorted body perception. In conclusion, physical factors directly affecting childhood obesity and psychological and environmental factors surrounding a child should be considered.
Keywords screen time      quality of life      eating habits      childhood obesity      percentage of body mass index     
Corresponding Author(s): Kun-Ho Yoon   
Just Accepted Date: 08 October 2018   Online First Date: 08 November 2018    Issue Date: 03 December 2018
 Cite this article:   
So Jung Yang,Hun-Sung Kim,Kun-Ho Yoon. Analyzing the distinguishing factors that affect childhood obesity in South Korea[J]. Front. Med., 2018, 12(6): 707-716.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fmd/EN/10.1007/s11684-018-0660-x
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fmd/EN/Y2018/V12/I6/707
Elementary school (n=197) Middle school (n=461)
5%≤p-BMI<85% 85%≤p-BMI P-value 5%≤p-BMI<85% 85%≤p-BMI P-value
Number (%) 131 (66.5) 66 (33.5) 332 (72.0) 129 (28.0)
Age (year) 9±1 9±1 0.28 12±1 12±1 0.44
Height (cm) 136.1±5.4 141.4±6.2 <0.001 157.9±8.1 161.0±7.4 <0.01
Weight (kg) 31.9±4.7 48.4±8.6 <0.001 48.3±8.4 69.9±10.3 <0.01
aBMI (kg/m2) 17.1±1.8 24.0±2.6 <0.001 19.2±2.2 26.9±2.8 <0.01
z-score -0.3±0.7 1.7±0.4 <0.001 −0.2±0.7 1.7±0.5 <0.01
Percentage of fat (%) 9.0±4.8 22.8±4.3 <0.001 11.8±5.7 27.4±3.8 <0.01
Fat mass (kg) 3.0±1.9 11.3±4.3 <0.001 6.0±3.6 19.4±5.2 <0.01
Muscle mass (kg) 27.0±3.0 34.3±4.1 <0.001 39.4±5.3 46.3±5.4 <0.01
Waist circumference (cm) 59.3±5.3 77.2±8.4 <0.001 67.0±6.9 87.9±8.6 <0.01
bSBP (mmHg) 110±10 122±12 <0.001 114±11 124±17 <0.01
cDBP (mmHg) 70±7 78±9 <0.001 69.9±8.2 73±11 <0.05
Tab.1  Baseline characteristics
Fig.1  Physical examination scores of the elementary school students (A) and middle school students (B). PACER, progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance run; p-BMI, percentage of body mass index. These variables are presented as the mean±standard deviation (the error bar represents the standard deviation). *P<0.01, **P<0.001.
Fig.2  Psychological questionnaire scores of the elementary school students (A) and middle school students (B). p-BMI, percentage of body mass index. These variables are presented as the mean±standard deviation (the error bar represents the standard deviation). *P< 0.01.
Elementary school students Middle school students
5%≤p-BMI<85% 85%≤p-BMI 5%≤p-BMI<85% 85%≤p-BMI
Pearson correlation value P-value Pearson correlation value P-value Pearson correlation value P-value Pearson correlation value P-value
Waist circumference 0.82 <0.001 0.58 <0.001 0.83 <0.001 0.73 <0.001
Self- perception of their body 0.66 <0.001 0.40 <0.005 0.72 <0.001 0.47 <0.001
Efforts to lose weight (in the past year) −0.29 <0.005 −0.13 0.30 −0.29 <0.001 −0.25 <0.01
Hours spent during rigorous physical activity 0.11 0.90 0.04 0.73 0.07 0.25 0.09 0.36
Number of days they worked out during a week −0.01 0.96 0.05 0.73 −0.09 0.22 −0.12 0.32
Study hours after school (school day) 0.04 0.68 -0.06 0.64 −0.04 0.48 −0.05 0.60
Television or video hours (school day)a −0.13 0.15 0.12 0.33 0.05 0.36 0.10 0.31
Television or video hours (day off)a 0.04 0.66 0.21 0.10 0.05 0.37 0.14 0.14
Hours spent on a computer (school day)a −0.03 0.73 0.29 <0.05 -0.05 0.37 −0.14 0.12
Hours spent on a computer (day off)a 0.07 0.46 0.35 <0.01 0.05 0.38 −0.11 0.26
Desire to exercisea 0.06 0.47 0.28 <0.05 0.13 <0.05 0.22 <0.05
Average sleeping hoursa 0.03 0.75 0.04 0.78 −0.05 0.38 0.11 0.23
Average number of times eating breakfast(week)b −0.02 0.79 −0.09 0.50 −0.03 0.64 0.04 0.65
Eating meals regularly three times per dayb 0.03 0.73 −0.23 0.07 −0.01 0.92 0.06 0.50
Frequency of eating out (a lot) b −0.05 0.61 0.10 0.44 −0.04 0.47 −0.02 0.80
Nutritional knowledge totalb 0.11 0.21 −0.03 0.80 0.14 0.01 0.07 0.40
Self-esteem total 0.05 0.54 −0.33 <0.01 −0.06 0.33 −0.08 0.41
Body image total −0.02 0.80 0.10 0.44 0.08 0.13 0.11 0.21
Depression total −0.19 <0.05 0.32 <0.01 0.06 0.27 0.06 0.53
Quality of life total 0.17 0.06 −0.39 <0.01 −0.06 0.31 −0.12 0.20
Tab.2  Correlation among the percentage of body mass index and various factors
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