Journal List > Korean J Community Nutr > v.21(3) > 1038544

Yun, Kwon, and Yoon: Status of Maternal Nutrition in South and North Korea

Abstract

Objectives

This study compared the nutritional status of child-bearing age women between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

Methods

The data presented in the DPRK Final Report of the National Nutrition Survey 2012 was utilized for the nutritional status and food intake of North Korean women. To produce the South Korean women's data comparable to those of North Korean women, the data from the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey were analyzed and the data presented in the 2010 Report of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards were utilized.

Results

The prevalence of maternal anemia (blood hemoglobin < 12.0 g/dL) was over 30% in all the age groups of North Korean women and 8.9%, 14.2%, 16.4% in 20-29, 30-39, 40-49 year old South Korean women, respectively. The prevalence of maternal protein-energy malnutrition (Mid-Upper Arm Circumference < 22.5 cm) was 25.2%, 21.4%, 21.8% in 20-29, 30-39, 40-49 year old North Korean women, respectively and less than 10% in all the age groups of South Korean women. Result of dietary diversity comparison showed that North Korean women consumed less food than South Korean women at all food groups: grains, fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy. Percentage of North Korean women having consumed protein rich foods-meat and fish, eggs or dairy products-were much lower than those of South Korean women.

Conclusions

The striking disparity of nutritional status between South and North Korean women indicates that nutrition support for North Korean women is essential in the process of preparation for a unified nation.

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1

Prevalence of anemia3) among child-bearing age women in North and South Korea

1) Data from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Final Report of the National Nutrition Survey 2012 [1]
2) Analyzing the data from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2012 [22]
3) Assessed by blood hemoglobin < 12.0 g/dL
kjcn-21-265-g001
Table 1

Distribution of study subjects by age groups in North and South Korea

kjcn-21-265-i001

1) Data from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Final Report of the National Nutrition Survey 2012 [1]

2) Analysis results of the data from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2012 [22]

3) Data from the Size Korea report (6th Korean Agency of Technology and Standards 2010) [23]

Table 2

Prevalence of protein and energy malnutrition1) among child-bearing age women in North and South Korea

kjcn-21-265-i002

1) Assessed by low mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) less than 22.5 cm

2) Data from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Final Report of the National Nutrition Survey 2012 [1]

3) Data from the Size Korea report (6th Korean Agency of Technology and Standards 2010) [23]

4) Calculated assuming the increase in mid upper arm circumference proportional to the percentile

Table 3

Percentages of child-bearing age women having consumed respective food groups in North and South Korea

kjcn-21-265-i003

1) Data from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Final Report of the National Nutrition Survey 2012 [1]

2) Analysis results of the data from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2012 [22]

3) Chrysanthemum leaves, spinach, broccoli, sea weed and other dark green vegetables

4) Pumpkin, carrots, sweet potatoes and other vitamin A rich vegetables (yellow or orange inside), apricot, peach (vitamin A rich fruits) and their juices

5) Other vegetables (cabbage, cucumber, tomato, eggplant, etc), other fruits (apple, pear, watermelon, etc) and their juices

6) Liver, kidney, heart or other organ meats

7) Inclusion of food items such as oil, butter, sweets, honey, biscuits, cakes, condiments and beverages etc.

8) Inclusion of food groups such as sugars, oils, beverage and alcohol, others

References

1. DPRK Central Bureau of Statistics. DPRK Final Report of the National Nutrition Survey 2012 [internet]. UNICEF;World Food Programme;World Health Organization;2013. cited 2015 Oct 21. Available from: http://www.unicef.org/eapro/DPRK_National_Nutrition_Survey_2012.pdf.
2. FAO, IFAD and WFP. The state of food insecurity in the world 2015. Meeting the 2015 international hunger targets: taking stock of uneven progress. Rome: FAO;2015. ISBN. 978-92-5-108785-5.
3. Statistics Korea. Population projection of DPRK from 1993 to 2055 [internet]. 2010. cited 2015 Oct 21. Available from: http://kostat.go.kr.
4. Bae SI. Humanitarian assistance to DPRK of international community. Korean J Int Stud. 2004; 44(1):255–280.
5. EU, UNICEF, WFP. Nutrition Survey of the DPRK [internet]. UNICEF;1998. cited 2015 Oct 21. Available from: http://www.pwdigby.co.uk/pdf/Report_on_the_DPRK_Nutrition_Assessment_1998.pdf.
6. DPRK Central Bureau of Statistics. Report of the Second Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2000, DPRK [internet]. 2000. cited 2015 Oct 21. Available from: https://mics-surveysprod.s3.amazonaws.com/MICS2/East%20Asia%20and%20the%20Pacific/Korea%2C%20Democratic%20People%27s%20Republic%20of/2000/Final/Korea%2C%20Democratic%20People%27s%20Republic%20of%202000%20MICS_English.pdf.
7. DPRK Central Bureau of Statistics. Report of the DPRK Nutrition Assessment [internet]. UNICEF;2012. cited 2015 Oct 21. Available from: http://www.unicef.org/dprk/nutrition_assessment.pdf.
8. DPRK Central Bureau of Statistics. DPRK 2004 Nutrition Assessment Report of Survey Results [internet]. 2004. cited 2015 Oct 21. Available from: http://www.unicef.org/dprk/dprk_national_nutrition_assessment_2004_final_report_07_03_05.pdf.
9. UNICEF CBS. DPRK Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2009 [internet]. DPRK Central Bureau of Statistics;2009. cited 2015 Oct 21. Available from: http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Korea%20DPR/Korea_DPR_MICS_2009.pdf.
10. Koo J, Kim JH, Byun KW, Son JM, Lee JW, Lee JH, et al. Nutrition through the life cycle. 2nd ed. Seoul: Powerbook;2013. p. 32.
11. Bae HS. Risk factors affecting the health of pregnant women and fetus. Korean J Community Nutr. 2008; 13(6):805–817.
12. Black RE, Victora CG, Walker SP, Bhutta ZA, Christian P, Onis M, et al. Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet. 2013; 382(9890):427–451.
13. Song YW, Shin JH, Yoon YS, Jeong HC, Yim HE, Choi BM. Perinatal complications of mothers and neonates resulting from inadequate prenatal care. Korean J Perinatol. 2010; 21(4):347–355.
14. Gortmaker SL. The effects of prenatal care upon the health of the newborn. Am J Public Health. 1979; 69(7):653–660.
15. Quick JD, Greenlick MR, Roghmann KJ. Prenatal care and pregnancy outcome in an HMO and general population: a multivariate cohort analysis. Am J Public Health. 1981; 71(4):381–390.
16. Garrido GG. The impact of adequate prenatal care in a developing country: testing the WHO recommendations [Internet]. 2009. cited 2015 Oct 21. Available from: http://papers.ccpr.ucla.edu/papers/PWP-CCPR-2009-014/PWP-CCPR-2009-014.pdf.
17. Lim HS. Nutritional factors of the women of reproductive age and pregnancy outcome. Korean J Community Nutr. 2002; 7(6):894–906.
18. Jeon BJ. Low fertility era and maternal health promotion. J Korea Contents Assoc. 2014; 14(6):162–173.
19. Kim S, Lee E. The trend and the task of North Korean women researches. J Korean Assoc North Korean Stud. 2012; 16(2):229–268.
20. Lim SH. The impact of the food crisis on North Korean women. Korean J Unification Aff. 2005; 17(1):167–190.
21. Shim JE, Yoon J, Jeong SY, Park M, Lee YS. Status of early childhood and maternal nutrition in South Korea and North Korea. Korean J Community Nutr. 2007; 12(2):123–132.
22. Ministry of Health and Welfare. 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey [internet]. Ministry of Health and Welfare;2012. cited 2015 Aug 31. Available from: http://knhanes.cdc.go.kr.
23. Korea Agency of Technology and Standards. 6th Korean Agency of Technology and Standards data[Internet]. Korea Agency of Technology and Standards;2010. cited 2015 Aug 31. Available from: http://sizekorea.kats.go.kr.
24. World Health Organization. Iron deficiency anaemia: assessment, prevention and control. A guide for programme managers. WHO/NHD/01.3;2001. p. 17.
25. de Benoist B, McLean E, Egli I, Cogswell M. Worldwide prevalence of anaemia 1993-2005. WHO global database on anaemia. World Health Organization;2008. p. 8.
26. World Food Programme. Hunger map 2015 [internet]. 2016. cited 2015 Sep 17. Available from: http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/communications/wfp275057.pdf.
27. Kim Y, Hwang SJ. Effects of socio-cultural pressure and objectified body consciousness on the behavior of women for appearance management. J Korean Soc Costumes. 2008; 58(10):112–122.
28. Joo JY, Bae JI, Lee JH, Park JS, Han KS, Bae KH. The association of maternal body mass index with birth weight and cesarean delivery. Korean J Obstet Gynecol. 2001; 44(6):1103–1108.
29. Kim SG, Kim YK, Kim HR, Park JS, Son CG, Choi YJ, et al. The 2012 national survey of fertility, family health & welfare in Korea. Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs;2012. Apr. Report No. 2012-54.
30. Lee JJ. Effect of women's first childbearing age on the risk of low birth weight. Korean J Pediatr. 2007; 50(12):1206–1211.
31. Lim HS, Lee JA, Jin HO. The evaluation of the dietary diversity and nutrient intakes of Korean child-bearing women. Korean J Hum Ecol. 2000; 3(1):15–24.
32. Choi JH, Kim SK. Comparison of the dietary factors between normal and osteopenia groups by bone mineral density in Korean female college students. J Korean Soc Food Sci Nutr. 2008; 37(7):869–878.
33. Korean Statistical Information Service. Population Census [internet]. Statistics Korea;2010. updated 2012 Aug 28. cited 2015 Sep 16. Available from: http://kosis.kr/statisticsList/statisticsList_01List.jsp?vwcd=MT_ZTITLE&parentId=A#SubCont.
34. Hanyang University Cooperation Foundation. Health promotion strategies and programmes development for health inequalities alleviation. Hanyang University Cooperation Foundation;2009. Dec. Report No. 08-55.
35. Ministry of Health and Welfare. The National Health Plan 2020. Ministry of Health and Welfare;2011. Report No. 11-1352000-00028-13.
TOOLS
ORCID iDs

Jihyun Yoon
https://orcid.org/http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9479-9305

Similar articles