Journal List > J Korean Acad Community Health Nurs > v.26(3) > 1058392

Lee, Im, and Yu: Health Habit, Perceived Health Status and Physical Health Status of Young Korean and Korean-Chinese Women: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Purpose:

The purpose of this study was to compare health habit, physical health status, and perceived health status between young Korean and Korean-Chinese women.

Methods:

This study was conducted as a cross-sectional comparative survey. For this study, 114 Korean women were recruited in Seoul, South Korea and 64 Korean-Chinese women in Jilin Province, China through convenience sampling.

Results:

A positive correlation was found between health habit and perceived health status. Perceived health status, WHR, body density, flexibility, and muscle endurance were significantly lower in Korean women than in Korean-Chinese ones. Knee flexion and ankle dorsal flexion was significantly higher in Korean women than in Korean-Chinese ones.

Conclusion

Further investigation is required to compare the two different groups that share the same ethnicity and similar culture but were born into different countries. A study such as this may provide answers regarding the influence of migrated transition on health.

References

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Table 1.
Socio-demographic Characteristics of the Subjects
Variables Categories Korean (114)
Korean Chinese (64)
t p
n (%) or M±SD n (%) or M±SD
Age (year)   20.8±1.57 20.3±1.32 2.04 .042
Height (cm)   162.0±4.90 158.3±4.54 5.01 <.001
Body weight (kg)   53.6±6.27 51.6±6.32 2.03 .044
Waist circumference (cm)   70.0±6.51 75.4±7.31 5.39 <.001
Hip circumference (cm)   92.6±5.26 92.0±4.33 0.74 .461
Religion Protestant 39 (34.2) 37 (57.8) 22.30 <.001
Catholic 22 (19.3) 1 (1.6)    
Buddhism 12 (10.5) 0 (0.0)    
Unaffiliated 41 (36.0) 26 (40.6)    
Table 2.
Comparisons of Health Habits, Perceived Health Status, Body Composition, and Physical Health Status
Variables Korean (114)
Korean Chinese (64)
t p
M±SD M±SD
Health habits (score) 63.2±14.81 63.9±14.11 0.30 .762
Perceived health status (score) 68.9±14.95 71.0±16.69 0.82 .044
Body mass index (kg/m2) 20.4±2.22 20.6±2.57 0.56 .575
Waist hip ratio 0.75±0.06 0.81±0.56 7.32 <.001
Body density 1.034±0.01 1.040±0.01 2.91 .004
Percent body fat (%) 28.7±5.62 26.2±4.90 2.93 .004
Ventral flexibility (cm) 11.7±6.54 16.4±7.01 4.54 <.001
Power of muscle (kg)        
    Right hand's grasp 25.7±3.64 25.8±3.79 0.21 .833
    Left hand's grasp 23.6±3.83 24.6±3.78 1.73 .085
    Knee flexion 34.6±14.38 28.5±11.01 2.90 .004
    Knee extension 28.0±11.74 30.7±10.48 1.49 .140
    Ankle dorsal flexion 27.6±11.01 23.0±9.99 2.73 .007
    Ankle plantar flexion 26.6±11.52 26.0±7.84 0.36 .723
Muscle endurance        
    Sit-up test (times/min) 24.1±9.83 30.5±8.60 4.32 <.001

Body weight (kg)2/height (m)2;

Marking down to two or three decimal places was used to show significant differences among the groups.

Table 3.
Correlations between BMI, WHR, Percent Body Fat, and Body Density
(N=178)
Variables BMI
WHR
Body density
Body fat
r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p)
BMI 1      
WHR .47 (<.001) 1    
Body density −.56 (<.001) −.20 (.013) 1  
Body fat .56 (<.001) .14 (.014) −1.00 (<.001) 1
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