J Nutr Health.  2021 Jun;54(3):239-246. 10.4163/jnh.2021.54.3.239.

Comparison of the nutritional status of infants and young children in South Korea and North Korea

• Nam SY
• Yoon J
• Lee SK

• KMID: 2517367
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4163/jnh.2021.54.3.239

Abstract

Purpose
Previous studies have reported the difference in nutritional status between South and North Korean infants and young children (IYC). Clear understanding on the nature of such differences is essential for planning food and nutrition policies and programs to prepare for a possible re-unification of the two Koreas in future. This study was undertaken to yield valid statistics comparing the nutritional status between North and South Korean IYC.
Methods
Raw data obtained from the 2017 Korean National Growth Chart and the 2013–2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed to determine the comparable statistics that include weight for age z-score (WAZ), height for age z-score (HAZ) and weight for height z-score (WHZ), with data reported in the Survey Findings Report of the 2017 DRP Korea Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey. The average weight and height by gender and month were estimated for North Korean IYC and calculated for South Korean IYC. SPSS analysis was applied to evaluate the acquired statistics and compare the nutritional status of South and North Korean IYC.
Results
WAZ, HAZ and WHZ of North Korean IYC were observed to be lower than values obtained for South Korean IYC as well as the median values of World Health Organization Child Growth Standards across all ages. Similar patterns were observed for average height and weight. The nutritional status of North Korean IYC revealed a prevalence of highly underweight (9.3%), stunting (19.1%) and wasting (2.5%) values, and was determined to be significantly lower than values obtained for South Korean IYC (0.8%, 1.8%, and 0.7%, respectively).
Conclusion
This study has yielded valid statistics that compare the nutritional status of North and South Korean IYC. Results of this study confirm the prevalence of nutritional status difference between South and North Korea.

Keyword

Democratic People's Republic of Korea; Republic of Korea; nutritional status; infant; preschool child