J Nutr Health.  2022 Dec;55(6):630-641. 10.4163/jnh.2022.55.6.630.

Assessment of dietary quality and nutrient intake of obese children in Changwon area

• Park JS
• Choi HN
• Kim JY
• Ma SH
• Yim JE

• KMID: 2537840
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4163/jnh.2022.55.6.630

Abstract

Purpose
In this study, we assessed the intake of nutrients and food groups and analyzed the nutrition quotient of obese children in South Korea. The hypothesis was that dietary quality and nutrient intake are related to the body mass index (BMI) of obese children.
Methods
The participants included 48 children (20 boys and 28 girls). Based on the guidelines for the age-for-body mass index provided by the Korean National Growth Charts for children and adolescents, the participants were divided into 3 groups: overweight, BMI ≥ 85th percentile; obese, BMI ≥ 95th percentile; severely obese, BMI ≥ 99th percentile.
Results
The energy distribution showed that the carbohydrate ratio was significantly higher in the overweight group (p < 0.01), whereas the fat ratio was significantly higher in the obese and severely obese groups (p < 0.05). Thus, in the overweight and obese groups, the percent body fat was negatively associated with the carbohydrate ratio (p < 0.05) but was positively associated with the fat ratio (p < 0.05). The Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) data revealed that the intake levels of protein, vitamin B 1 , vitamin B 12 , and sodium were higher in all groups. Intakes of fiber, calcium, potassium, and magnesium were insufficient in all groups, and the DRI percent for protein was significantly higher in the obese and severely obese groups than in the overweight group. No significant differences were obtained in food group patterns or Nutrition Quotient (NQ) scores among the 3 groups. According to the evaluation results by food record and NQ, a significant difference was obtained in the dietary quality of obese children.
Conclusion
We conclude that a higher intake of fat enhances weight gain. Based on the study results, we propose that the guidelines should consider the energy distribution of carbohydrate and fat intake to prevent and control obesity among Korean children.

Keyword

pediatric obesity; eating habits; diet records; child nutrition sciences; nutrition surveys