Nutr Res Pract.  2016 Oct;10(5):555-562. 10.4162/nrp.2016.10.5.555.

Child health promotion program in South Korea in collaboration with US National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Improvement in dietary and nutrition knowledge of young children

• Lim H
• Kim J
• Wang Y
• Min J
• Carvajal N
• Lloyd CW

• KMID: 2434091
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2016.10.5.555

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES
Childhood obesity has become a global epidemic. Development of effective and sustainable programs to promote healthy behaviors from a young age is important. This study developed and tested an intervention program designed to promote healthy eating and physical activity among young children in South Korea by adaptation of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mission X (MX) Program.
SUBJECTS/METHODS
The intervention program consisted of 4 weeks of fitness and 2 weeks of nutrition education. A sample of 104 subjects completed pre- and post-surveys on the Children's Nutrition Acknowledgement Test (NAT). Parents were asked for their children's characteristics and two 24-hour dietary records, the Nutrition Quotient (NQ) at baseline and a 6-week follow-up. Child weight status was assessed using Korean body mass index (BMI) percentiles.
RESULTS
At baseline, 16.4% (boy: 15.4%; girl: 19.2%) of subjects were overweight or obese (based on BMI≥85%tile). Fat consumption significantly decreased in normal BMI children (48.6 ± 16.8 g at baseline to 41.9 ± 18.1 g after intervention, P < 0.05); total NQ score significantly increased from 66.4 to 67.9 (P < 0.05); total NAT score significantly improved in normal BMI children (74.3 at baseline to 81.9 after the program), children being underweight (from 71.0 to 77.0), and overweight children (77.1 at baseline vs. 88.2 after intervention, P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
The 6-week South Korean NASA MX project is feasible and shows favorable changes in eating behaviors and nutritional knowledge among young children.

Keyword

Child; obesity; prevention; nutrition; South Korea

MeSH Terms

Body Mass Index
Child Health*
Child*
Cooperative Behavior*
Diet Records
Eating
Education
Feeding Behavior
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Korea*
Motor Activity
Obesity
Overweight
Parents
Pediatric Obesity
Thinness
United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration*

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Pre- and post-intervention measures of Nutrition Quotient (NQ) of 5-year-old South Korean children participating in the intervention program, by sex and weight status. 1) Defined based on age- and sex-specific BMI percentiles from the 2007 Korea National Growth Chart; underweight (< 10th percentile); normal weight (10th percentile ≤ BMI < 85th percentile); overweight (≤ 85th percentile). 2) Total NQ score (0 to 100 points) = sum of [checklist item score (0-100) × item weight within NQ] 3) NQ grade: Five dietary behavioral stages (Highest: 80.9-100, High: 73.8-80.8, Medium: 56.5-73.7, Low: 47.6-56.4, Lowest: 0-47.5) were assigned according to the total NQ score ranged from 0 to 100 points and a higher score indicated better dietary behaviors. Significant differences were shown between pre- and post-intervention by Paired t-test; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. No statistically significant differences were detected at pre- and post-intervention among the three groups by weight status.

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