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Yon, Park, Yoo, and Hyun: Development and Evaluation of a Nutrition Education Website for the Prevention and Management of Childhood Obesity
Original Article
Korean Journal of Community Nutrition

Korean Journal of Community Nutrition 2012; 17(4): 390-406.

Published online: 31 August 2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2012.17.4.390

Development and Evaluation of a Nutrition Education Website for the Prevention and Management of Childhood Obesity

Miyong Yon, Chan Park1, Kwan-Hee Yoo1, Taisun Hyun2

Nutrition Policy Team, Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Chungbuk, Korea.

1Department of Digital Informatics & Convergence, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea.

2Department of Food and Nutrition, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea.

Corresponding author: Taisun Hyun, Department of Food and Nutrition, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763, Korea. Tel: (043) 261-2790, Fax: (043) 267-2742, taisun@chungbuk.ac.kr

Received 8 August 2012       Revised 23 August 2012       Accepted 23 August 2012

Copyright © 2012 The Korean Society of Community Nutrition

Abstract

Childhood obesity has rapidly increased worldwide and is one of the most serious health problems in this age group. In order to prevent and manage childhood obesity, we developed a nutrition education website. The website consisted of three parts. The first part was made for self-assessment with regard to obesity index, dietary habits, food frequency, dietary attitude, nutrition knowledge, nutrient intake, energy expenditure, and the stage of behavioral change, and tailored messages and advice according to the assessment results. A total of 612 real-size food photos as well as a nutrient database of 3,346 foods and 541 dishes were created to help children estimate nutrient intakes accurately. In addition, an energy expenditure database of 156 activities for children was established to calculate calorie consumption. The second part was made for setting long-term and short-term goals and keeping track of the changes in energy intake and expenditure in one's own page. The third part was made for education. Various types of nutrition information were provided; texts, pictures, calculators and games. The readability and design of the website were evaluated by 46 obese children. Usefulness, design and readability of the website were found to be desirable for children. This website is expected to be used by an obese child alone or with parents or nutrition teachers in order to control body weight through healthy dietary habits and physical activities. In addition, a non-obese child can also use this website for maintaining healthy dietary habits and preventing obesity.

Keywords: childhood obesity, weight control, nutrition education, website

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1
Main page of the website.
kjcn-17-390-g001
Fig. 2
An example of real-size photo for portion size assessment.
kjcn-17-390-g002
Fig. 3
Result page of energy expenditure assessment.
kjcn-17-390-g003
Fig. 4
Summary page of assessment result.
kjcn-17-390-g004
Fig. 5
Energy intake tracking page.
kjcn-17-390-g005
Fig. 6
Webpage of 'My diary'.
kjcn-17-390-g006
Table 1
Sitemap of the website
kjcn-17-390-i001
Table 2
Contents and programs developed in 'Assessment' part
kjcn-17-390-i002

1) Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Korean Pediatric Society (2007)

2) Korean Nutrition Society (2000)

3) Korean Nutrition Society (2005)

4) Ainsworth et al (1993); Ainsworth et al (2000)

Table 3
Contents and programs developed in 'Management' part
kjcn-17-390-i003
Table 4
Contents and programs developed in 'Study' part
kjcn-17-390-i004

1) Korean Nutrition Society (2000)

2) Ainsworth et al (1993); Ainsworth et al (2000)

Table 5
Overall evaluation of the website
kjcn-17-390-i005

1) Mean ± SD (5=strongly agree, 4=agree, 3=neither agree nor disagree, 2=disagree, 1=strongly disagree)

2) N (%)

Table 6
Evaluation of website contents
kjcn-17-390-i006

1) Mean ± SD (5 = strongly agree, 4 = agree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree, 2 = disagree, 1 = strongly disagree)

Notes

This work was supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by Korea Government (MOEHRD, Basic Reseach Promotion Fund) (KRF-2005-204-C00102).

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