Journal List > Korean J Community Nutr > v.17(4) > 1038368

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

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.

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1
Main page of the website.
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Fig. 2
An example of real-size photo for portion size assessment.
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Fig. 3
Result page of energy expenditure assessment.
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Fig. 4
Summary page of assessment result.
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Fig. 5
Energy intake tracking page.
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Fig. 6
Webpage of 'My diary'.
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Table 1
Sitemap of the website
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Table 2
Contents and programs developed in 'Assessment' part
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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
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Table 4
Contents and programs developed in 'Study' part
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1) Korean Nutrition Society (2000)

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

Table 5
Overall evaluation of the website
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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
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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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