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

Article information

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

Publication date (electronic) : 2014 January 20

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

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 2014 January 27; Revised 2014 February 11; Accepted 2014 February 14.

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

Table 1.

General characteristics and anthropometric measurement of the study subjects

Table 2.

NQ¹⁾ score of study subjects

Table 3.

The distribution of 5 grade criterion of NQ¹⁾

Table 4.

Scores of NQ¹⁾ and its factors according to BMI²⁾ percentile grade

Table 5.

Comparison of checklist items for balance factor by institution type

Table 6.

Comparison of checklist items for diversity factor by institution type

Table 7.

Comparison of checklist items for moderation factor by institution type

Table 8.

Comparison of checklist items for regularity factor by institution type

Table 9.

Comparison of checklist items for practice factor by institution type

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Table 1.

General characteristics and anthropometric measurement of the study subjects

Variable		Total	Child-care center	Kindergarten	χ² or t-value
Variable		(n = 424)	(n = 219)	(n = 205)	χ² or t-value
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)	1.31²⁾
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)	1.08²⁾
	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
	NQ factors	(n = 40)	(n = 323)	(n = 47)	(n = 14)	F-value
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 ± 12.1^a	82.0 ± 11.1^a	79.2 ± 14.0^ab	75.0 ± 12.3^b	2.65∗
	Regularity	72.4 ± 17.1	70.5 ± 17.5	66.8 ± 17.1	64.6 ± 22.8	1.27
	Practice	61.5 ± 21.7^ab	63.8 ± 18.5^a	54.0 ± 18.0^b	57.1 ± 19.2^b	4.17∗
	NQ	64.4 ± 12.6^ab	65.9 ± 11.7^a	62.1 ± 11.0^ab	59.7 ± 14.7^b	2.74∗
		Underweight	Normal weight	Overweight	Obesity	F-value
		(n = 20)	(n = 167)	(n = 23)	(n = 9)	F-value
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)	F-value
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)	94.66
	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
Eggs	1∼2 times per week	139 (32.8)	70 (32.0)	69 (33.6)	92.56
	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
Whole grain	Seldom	112 (29.8)	51 (23.3)	61 (29.8)	92.43
	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 (%)