Journal List > Korean J Community Nutr > v.19(1) > 1038450

TOOLS
Kim and Jung: Evaluation of Food Behavior and Nutritional Status of Preschool Children in Nowon-gu of Seoul by Using Nutrition Quotient (NQ)
Original Article

Korean J Community Nutr 2014;19(1):1-11.

Published online: 20 January 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2014.19.1.1

Evaluation of Food Behavior and Nutritional Status of Preschool Children in Nowon-gu of Seoul by Using Nutrition Quotient (NQ)

Jung Hee Kim†, , Yeon Hyang Jung

Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul Women's University, Seoul, Korea

†Corresponding author: Jung Hee Kim, Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul Women's University, 623 Hwarangno, Nowon-gu, Seoul 139-774, Korea Tel: (02) 970-5646, Fax: (02) 976-4049 E-mail: jheekim@swu.ac.kr

∗ This work was supported by a research grant from Seoul Women's University (2012)

Received 27 January 2014       Revised 11 February 2014       Accepted 14 February 2014

Copyright © 2014 Journal of the Korean Society of Community Nutrition

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to assess food behavior and nutritional status of preschool children by using the Nutrition Quotient (NQ) for children and children's growth index. The subjects for this study were 424, 5-year old children, who enrolled in child-care centers (n = 219) and kindergartens (n = 205) in Nowon-gu, Seoul. The NQ was examined by NQ questionnaire which consisted of 19 food behavior checklist items. Their items were grouped into 5 categories: balance, diversity, moderation, regularity, and practice. Children's anthropometric measurements were performed by using InBody J05. All data were statistically analyzed by SAS 9.3 and significant difference was evaluated by Student's t-test and X2-test. The rates of overweight and obesity for subjects were 11.1% and 3.3%, respectively. Total NQ score of the subjects was 65.1, which was within medium grade. The NQ score of kindergartens (66.1) was higher than that of child-care center (64.2), showing significant difference by institution type. In addition, the NQ score of obesity was significantly lower than that of normal weight subjects. The scores of balance (p < 0.05) and regularity factor (p < 0.001) were higher in kindergarten compared to child-care center. Particularly, the frequency of consumption of white milk and Ramyeon was higher (p < 0.001) and lower (p < 0.05) respectively in kindergarten compared to child-care center. Frequencies of meal regularity (P < 0.01) and breakfast eating (p < 0.001) were also higher in kindergarten compared to child-care center. These results indicate that kindergarten's children had better eating habits than those of child-care center. Overall analysis of items for food behavior checklists implies that children in Nowon-gu are short of vegetables consumption. Therefore, children and their parents need proper nutrition education and counseling to correct their eating habits and to improve their nutritional status.

Keywords: nutrition quotient, eating behavior, preschool children, nutritional status

References

Boo MN. 2012. ): Analysis of the children's nutrition quotient and the degree of keeping the dietary guidelines with regard to elementary school children in Jeju. Graduate School of Education, Yeungnam University.
Branscum P., Sharma M., Kaye G., Succop P. 2010. An evaluation of the validity and reliability of a food behavior checklist modified for children. J Nutr Educ Behav. 42(5):349–352.
crossref
Briley ME., Jastrow S., Vickers J., Roberts-Gray C. 1999. Dietary intake at childcare centers and away: Are parents and care providers working as partners or at cross-purposes? J Am Diet Assoc. 99(8):950–954.
Cho MS. 2000. Nutrition and health status of day-care center children. Korean J Dietary Culture. 15(4):313–323.
Choi MJ., Yoon JS. 2003. The effect of eating habits and nutrient intake on the physical growth indices in preschool children. Korean J Community Nutr. 8(1):3–14.
Eun JH., Kim SM. 2003. The effects of taste preferences on nutrients intake and the degree of dental caries in preschool children. Korean J Community Nutr. 8(5):631–641.
Epstein LH., Myers MD, et al. (. 1998. Treatment of pediatric obesity. Am Acad Pediatrics. 101(3):554–570.
crossref
Guenther PM., Reedy J., Krebs-Smith SM., Reeve BB., Basiotis PP. 2007. Development and evaluation of the healthy eating index-2005. Technical report. Alexandria (VA): Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Haines PS., Siega-Riz AM., Popkin BM. 1999. The diet quality index revised: a measurement instrument for populations. J Am Diet Assoc. 99(6):697–704.
Kang KJ. 2005. A study on food habits, nutrition intakes and nutritional quality of preschool children in seoul. Korean J Community Nutr. 10(4):471–483.
Kang MH., Lee JS., Kim HY., Kwon SH., Choi US., Chung HR., Kwak TK., Cho YH. 2012. Selecting items of a food behavior checklist for the development of nutrition quotient (NQ) for children. Korean J Nutr. 45(4):372–389.
crossref
Kennedy ET., Ohls J., Carlson S., Fleming K. 1995. The healthy eating index: design and applications. J Am Diet Assoc. 95(10):1103–1108.
Kim HY., Kwon SH., Lee JS., Choi YS., Chung HR., Kwak TK., Park JY., Kang MH. 2012. Development of a nutrition quotient (NQ) equation modeling for children and the evaluation of its construct validity. Korean J Nut. 45(4):390–399.
crossref
Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Korean Pediatric Society. 2007. ): 2007 Korean children and adolescents growth standard. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available from:. http//www.cdc.go.kr/[cited2013October2].
Lee JH., Kang EJ., Kim CI. 2011. The difference of perception about nutritional problems and food intakes, nutrition knowledge score and realities of nutrition education between parents and preschool teachers. Korean J Community Nutr. 16(6):636–646.
crossref
Lee SJ and Kim YN. 2013. Evaluation of the diet and nutritional states of elementary and middle school students in the Daegu area by using nutrition quotient (NQ) for children. J Nutr Health. 46(5):440–446.
Lee RD., Nieman DC. 2007. Nutritional assessment. 4th ed.MacGraw-Hill.
Boston Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. 2013. Special act on safety control of children's dietary life. Legislation No. 11988. Cheongwon: Ministry of Food and Drug Safety;2013 Available from:. http://www.law.go.kr/lsInfoP.do. ? [cited 2013 December 25].
Ministry of Health & Welfare, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2011. ): Korea Health Statistics 2010 – Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V-1) Ministry of Health & Welfare.
Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2012. ): Korea Health Wtatistics 2011 – Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V-2) V-2) Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2013. ): Korea Health Statistics 2012 – Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V-3).
Ministry of Health and Welfare. 2013. Child welfare law. Legislation No. 11572. Seoul: Ministry of Health & Welfare;2012. Available from. http://www.law.go.kr/lsInfoP.do?lsiSeq=130854&efYd=20130619#0000. [cited 2013 December 5].
Murphy SP., Kaiser LL., Townsend MS., Allen LH. 2001. Evaluation of validity of items for a food behavior checklist. J Am Diet Assoc. 101(7):751–761.
crossref
Oh K., Jang MJ., Lee NY., Moon JS., Lee CG., Yoo MH. 2008. Prevalence and trends in obesity among Korean children and adolescents in 1997 and 2005. Korean J Pediatric. 51:950–955.
crossref
Patterson RE., Haines PS., Popkin BM. 1994. Diet quality index: capturing a multidimensional behavior. J Am Diet Assoc. 94(1):57–64.
crossref
Townsend MS., Kaiser LL., Allen LH., Joy AB., Murphy SP. 2003. Selecting items for a food behavior checklist for a limited-resource audience. J Nutr Educ Behav. 35(2):69–77.
crossref
Yon M., Hyun T. 2008. Development of an eating habit checklist for screening elementary school children at high risk of energy overintake. Korean J Nutr. 41(5):414–427.
Yon M., Hyun T. 2009. Development of an eating habit checklist for screening elementary school children at risk of inadequate micronutrient intake. Korean J Nutr. 42(1):38–47.
Yoo JS. 2012. ): Investigation of dietary intake and nutrition quotient (NQ) by elemantary school children in Gyeongbuk area. Graduate School of Education, Daegu University.
Yoo JS., Choi YS. 2013. Evaluation of items for the food behavior checklist and nutrition quotient score on children in rural areas of Gyeongbuk. J Nutr Health. 46(5):427–439.
crossref
Yoon WJ. 2008. Research on mother's management status of eating habits of preschool children: mother's needs about food service and nutritional education. The Graduate school of education, Kyungwon University Yu KH (2009): A study on the dietary behaviors, physical development and nutrient intakes in preschool children. Korean J Nutr. 42(1):23–37.

Table 1.
General characteristics and anthropometric measurement of the study subjects
Variable Total Child-care center Kindergarten χ² or t-value
(n = 424) (n = 219) (n = 205)
Age (years) 5 424 219 (51.7)1) 205 (48.3)  
Sex Boys 219 (51.7) 119 (54.3) 100 (48.8) 1.312)
  Girls 205 (48.3) 100 (45.7) 105 (51.2)
Growth index Height (cm) 118.1 ± 5.73) ) 117.9 ± 6.1 118.4 ± 5.3 0.924)
  Weight (kg) 522.3 ± 3.9 522.3 ± 3.9 522.4 ± 3.8 0.27
  BMI (kg/m2) 515.7 ± 1.9 515.7 ± 1.9 515.6 ± 1.9 0.31
Obeity index5) Underweight 540 (59.4) 520 (59.1) 520 (59.8)  
  Normal weigh t 323 (76.2) 167 (76.3) 156 (76.1) 1.082)
  Overweight 547 (11.1) 523 (10.5) 524 (11.7)
  Obesity 514 (53.3) 559 (54.1) 555 (52.4)  

1) N (%), 2) χ²-value, 3) Mean ± SD, 4) t-value

5) Based on growth charts for Korean children and adolescents (2007)

Underweight: BMI percentile < 5, Normal weight 5 ≤ BMI percentile < 85

Overweight: 85 ≤ BMI percentile < 95, Obesity: BMI percentile ≥ 95 or BMI ≥ 25

Table 2.
NQ1) score of study subjects
Factor Total (n = 424) Child-care center (n = 219) Kindergarten (n = 205) t-value
Balance 60.5 ± 15.22) 60.0 ± 15.7 62.1 ± 14.5 2.1∗
Diversity 61.5 ± 22.9 62.0 ± 22.7 60.9 ± 23.1 0.53
Moderation 81.6 ± 11.7 80.5 ± 11.8 82.7 ± 11.5 1.88
Regularity 70.1 ± 17.6 66.3 ± 20.3 74.1 ± 13.0 4.75∗∗∗
Practice 62.2 ± 18.9 62.9 ± 19.0 61.4 ± 18.7 0.82
NQ 65.1 ± 11.5 64.2 ± 12.3 66.1 ± 10.4 1.74

1) Nutrition Quotient, 2) Mean ± SD, ∗: p < 0.05, ∗∗∗: p < 0.001 Significantly different between child-care center and kindergarten by t-test

Table 3.
The distribution of 5 grade criterion of NQ1)
NQ grade2) Total (n = 424) Child-care center (n = 219) Kindergarten (n = 205) χ2
Excellent 32 (97.5)3) 16 (97.3) 16 (97.8)  
Good 67 (15.8) 28 (12.8) 39 (19.0)  
So-so 227 (53.5) 122 (55.7) 105 (51.2) 9.69∗
No good 68 (16.0) 31 (14.2) 37 (18.0)  
Bad 30 (97.1) 22 (10.0) 8 (93.9)  

∗ 1) Nutrition Quotient, 2) Excellent: 80.9 ≤ NQ score ≤ 100, good: 73.8 ≤ NQ score ≤ 80.8, so-so: 56.5 ≤ NQ score ≤ 73.7, no good: 47.6 ≤ NQ score ≤ 56.4, bad: 0 ≤ NQ score ≤ 47.5, 3) N (%),: p < 0.05 Significantly different between child-care center and kindergarten by Chi-square test

Table 4.
Scores of NQ1) and its factors according to BMI2) percentile grade
  NQ factors Underweight3) Normal weight4) Overweight5) Obesity6) F-value
(n = 40) (n = 323) (n = 47) (n = 14)
Total Balance 57.5 ± 17.17) 61.1 ± 15.0 59.7 ± 14.0 57.0 ± 19.2 0.99
Diversity 59.3 ± 23.3 62.3 ± 22.5 60.6 ± 25.3 53.5 ± 25.0 0.84
Moderation 83.5 ± 12.1a 82.0 ± 11.1a 79.2 ± 14.0ab 75.0 ± 12.3b 2.65∗
Regularity 72.4 ± 17.1 70.5 ± 17.5 66.8 ± 17.1 64.6 ± 22.8 1.27
Practice 61.5 ± 21.7ab 63.8 ± 18.5a 54.0 ± 18.0b 57.1 ± 19.2b 4.17∗
NQ 64.4 ± 12.6ab 65.9 ± 11.7a 62.1 ± 11.0ab 59.7 ± 14.7b 2.74∗
    Underweight Normal weight Overweight Obesity F-value
    (n = 20) (n = 167) (n = 23) (n = 9)
Child-care center Balance 56.1 ± 14.0 59.9 ± 15.7 57.3 ± 15.9 52.7 ± 18.9 0.98
Diversity 58.7 ± 18.0 62.9 ± 22.9 59.9 ± 27.0 58.6 ± 21.9 0.37
Moderation 81.1 ± 89.1 81.3 ± 11.5 76.7 ± 14.7 75.4 ± 15.6 1.69
Regularity 70.3 ± 20.5 66.9 ± 20.2 61.5 ± 19.0 58.3 ± 25.3 1.18
Practice 61.8 ± 19.6 64.7 ± 19.0 54.6 ± 17.3 55.6 ± 21.8 2.44
NQ 63.3 ± 89.6 65.2 ± 12.3 60.5 ± 12.6 58.0 ± 15.2 1.86
    Underweight Normal weight Overweight Obesity F-value
    (n = 20) (n = 156) (n = 24) (n = 5)
Kindergarten Balance 58.9 ± 20.0 62.4 ± 14.0 62.0 ± 11.9 64.8 ± 19.2 0.41
Diversity 59.8 ± 28.1 61.5 ± 22.1 61.2 ± 24.1 44.4 ± 30.4 0.90
Moderation 86.0 ± 14.4 82.7 ± 10.6 81.7 ± 13.1 74.2 ± 14.9 1.53
Regularity 74.6 ± 13.0 74.3 ± 13.2 71.9 ± 13.5 76.0 ± 12.8 0.29
Practice 61.1 ± 24.2 62.9 ± 18.0 53.3 ± 19.0 60.0 ± 15.3 1.81
NQ 65.6 ± 15.1 66.8 ± 89.7 63.7 ± 89.4 62.8 ± 14.8 0.82

1) Nutrition Quotient

2) BMI (Body mass index) = Weight (kg) / Height (m2)

3) Underweight: 0 < BMI percentile < 5

4) Normal weight: 5 ≤ BMI percentile < 85

5) Overweight: 85 ≤ BMI percentile < 95

6) Obesity: BMI percentile ≥ 95 or BMI ≥ 25

7) Mean ± SD

∗: p < 0.05 by ANOVA

ab: Means with the different superscripts are significantly different at p < 0.05

Table 5.
Comparison of checklist items for balance factor by institution type
Check list items Consumption frequency Total (n = 424) Child-care center (n = 219) Kindergarten (n = 205) χ-value
  More than once a day 45 (10.6)1) 17 (97.8) 28 (13.7)  
Bean/Bean products Once every other day 124 (29.3) 67 (30.6) 57 (27.8) 94.66
  1∼2 times per week 218 (51.4) 113 (51.6) 105 (51.2)
  Never 37 (98.7) 22 (10.0) 15 (97.3)  
  More than two times a day 83 (19.6) 40 (18.2) 43 (21.0)  
  Once a day 241 (56.8) 120 (54.8) 121 (59.0)  
Fruit Once every other day 55 (13.0) 35 (16.0) 20 (99.8) 93.98
  1∼2 times per week 39 (99.2) 21 (99.6) 18 (98.8)  
  Never 6 (91.4) 3 (91.4) 3 (91.4)  
  More than two times a day 125 (29.5) 51 (23.3) 74 (36.1)  
  Once a day 214 (50.5) 108 (49.3) 106 (51.7)  
White milk Once every other day 31 (97.3) 20 (99.1) 11 (95.4) 19.28∗∗∗
  1∼2 times per week 42 (99.9) 32 (14.6) 10 (94.9)  
  Never 12 (92.8) 8 (93.7) 4 (91.9)  
  More than one a day 84 (19.8) 40 (18.2) 44 (21.5)  
Eggs Once every other day 188 (44.3) 104 (47.5) 84 (41.0) 92.56
1∼2 times per week 139 (32.8) 70 (32.0) 69 (33.6)
  Never 13 (93.1) 5 (92.3) 8 (93.9)  
  Always 102 (22.9) 55 (25.1) 47 (22.9)  
Whole grain Often 151 (34.6) 80 (36.5) 71 (34.6) 92.43
Seldom 112 (29.8) 51 (23.3) 61 (29.8)
  Never 59 (12.7) 33 (15.1) 26 (12.7)  
1) N (%)

∗∗∗ : p < 0.001 Significantly different between child-care center and Kindergarten by Chi-square test

Table 6.
Comparison of checklist items for diversity factor by institution type
Checklist items Consumption frequency Total (n = 424) Child-care center (n = 219) Kindergarten (n = 205) χ²-value
Diverse side dishes Always 55 (13.0)1) 32 (14.6) 23 (11.2) 5.57
Often 185 (43.6) 89 (40.6) 96 (46.8)
Seldom 124 (29.3) 72 (32.9) 52 (25.4)
Never 60 (14.1) 26 (11.9) 34 (16.6)
Vegetables (except Kimchi) Over 3 65 (15.3) 35 (16.0) 30 (14.6) 1.65
2∼1 181 (42.7) 94 (42.9) 87 (42.5)
1 142 (33.5) 75 (34.2) 67 (32.7)
Never 36 (98.5) 15 (96.9) 21 (10.2)
Kimchi Eat in each meal 244 (57.6) 128 (58.5) 116 (56.6) 5.05
Once a day 122 (28.8) 59 (26.9) 63 (30.7)
Once every other day 13 (93.1) 9 (94.1) 4 (92.0)
1∼2 times per week 15 (93.5) 5 (92.3) 10 (94.9)
Never 30 (97.0) 18 (98.2) 12 (95.8)
Table 7.
Comparison of checklist items for moderation factor by institution type
Checklist items Consumption frequency Total (n = 424) Child-care center (n = 219) Kindergarten (n = 205) χ²-value
Fast food More than once a day 1 (90.2)1) 1 (90.5) 0 (90.0) 5.16
Once every other day 16 (93.8) 7 (93.2) 9 (94.4)
2 times per week 142 (33.5) 83 (37.9) 59 (28.8)
Once per week 265 (62.5) 128 (58.4) 137 (66.8)
Never 0 (90.0) 0 (90.0) 0 (90.0)
Ramyeon More than once a day 2 (90.5) 0 (90.0) 2 (91.0) 9.51∗
Once every other day 4 (90.9) 4 (91.8) 0 (90.0)
2 times per week 38 (98.9) 25 (11.4) 13 (96.3)
Once per week 208 (49.1) 106 (48.4) 102 (49.8)
Never 172 (40.6) 84 (38.4) 88 (42.9)
Late-night snacks Every day 4 (90.9) 3 (91.4) 1 (90.5) 5.68
Once every other day 11 (92.6) 5 (92.3) 6 (92.9)
1∼2 times a week 91 (21.5) 56 (25.5) 35 (17.1)
Never 318 (75.0) 155 (70.8) 163 (79.5)
Street food Every day 2 (90.5) 2 (90.9) 0 (90.0) 2.74
Once every other day 12 (92.8) 5 (92.3) 7 (93.4)
1∼2 times a week 170 (40.1) 91 (41.6) 79 (38.5)
Never 240 (56.6) 121 (55.2) 119 (58.1)
Sweet Food More than once a day 53 (12.5) 30 (13.7) 23 (11.2) 6.88
Once every other day 81 (19.1) 34 (15.5) 47 (22.9)
2 times per week 122 (28.8) 66 (30.2) 56 (27.3)
Once per week 107 (25.2) 62 (28.3) 45 (22.0)
Never 61 (14.4) 27 (12.3) 34 (16.6)

1) N (%)

∗ : p < 0.05 Significantly different between child-care center and Kindergarten by Chi-square test

Table 8.
Comparison of checklist items for regularity factor by institution type
Checklist items Frequency Total (n = 424) Child-care center (n = 219) Kindergarten (n = 205) χ²-value
Meal regularity Always 108 (25.5)1) 56 (25.6) 52 (25.4) 15.54∗∗
Often 276 (65.1) 131 (59.8) 145 (70.7)
Seldom 29 (96.8) 22 (10.0) 7 (93.4)
Never 11 (92.6) 10 (94.6) 1 (90.5)
Break fast Every day 339 (79.9) 157 (71.7) 182 (88.8) 21.44∗∗∗
Once every other day 41 (99.7) 28 (12.8) 13 (96.3)
1∼2 times a week 22 (95.2) 15 (96.8) 7 (93.4)
Never 22 (95.2) 19 (98.7) 3 (91.5)
Watch TV/ play computer game Over 2 hours 82 (19.4) 51 (23.3) 31 (15.1) 97.35
1∼2 hours1 154 (36.3) 80 (36.5) 74 (36.1)
Under 1 hour 143 (33.7) 71 (32.4) 72 (35.1)
Never 45 (10.6) 17 (97.8) 28 (13.7)

1) N (%)

∗∗ : p < 0.01, ∗∗∗: p < 0.001 Significantly different between child-care center and kindergarten by Chi-square test

Table 9.
Comparison of checklist items for practice factor by institution type
Checklist items Frequency Total (n = 424) Child-care center (n = 219) Kindergarten (n = 205) χ²-value
Check nutrition labeling Always 65 (15.3)1) 36 (16.4) 29 (14.1) 3.61
Often 121 (28.5) 61 (27.9) 60 (29.3)
Seldom 139 (32.8) 78 (35.6) 61 (29.8)
Never 99 (23.4) 44 (20.1) 55 (26.8)
Chewing well Always 116 (27.4) 62 (28.3) 54 (26.4) 0.39
Often 215 (50.7) 109 (49.8) 106 (51.7)
Seldom 77 (18.1) 39 (17.8) 38 (18.5)
Never 16 (93.8) 9 (94.1) 7 (93.4)
Wash hands before meal Always 169 (39.9) 95 (43.4) 74 (36.1) 5.37
Often 190 (44.8) 87 (39.7) 103 (50.2)
Seldom 60 (14.1) 35 (16.0) 25 (12.2)
Never 5 (91.2) 2 (90.9) 3 (91.5)
Exercise time Over 1 hour 106 (25.0) 49 (22.4) 57 (27.8) 4.32
30 min∼1 hour 144 (33.9) 70 (31.9) 74 (36.1)
Under 30 minutes 158 (37.3) 90 (41.1) 68 (33.2)
Never 16 (93.8) 10 (94.6) 6 (92.9)

1) N (%)

TOOLS
Similar articles