Soh-Yoon Yun; Young Hye Kwon; Jihyun Yoon

doi:10.5720/kjcn.2016.21.3.265

Articles

Page Path: HOME > Korean J Community Nutr > Volume 21(3); 2016 > Article

Research Article
Status of Maternal Nutrition in South and North Korea: Soh-Yoon Yun, Young Hye Kwon, Jihyun Yoon; Korean Journal of Community Nutrition 2016;21(3):265-273.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2016.21.3.265
Published online: June 30, 2016

¹Department of Food and Nutrition, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

²Office of Nutrition Policy and Programs for North Korea, Research Institute of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.

Corresponding author: Jihyun Yoon. Department of Food and Nutrition, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Korea. Tel: (02) 880-8750, Fax: (02) 884-0305, hoonyoon@snu.ac.kr

• Received: April 27, 2016 • Revised: June 19, 2016 • Accepted: June 19, 2016

This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

183 Views
0 Download
5 Crossref

prev next

Full Article

Download PDF

Abstract
REFERENCES

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.
Keywords: unified Korea; child-bearing aged women; KNHANS; DPRK National Nutrition Survey; health status

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.Article
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.PubMed
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.PubMed PMC
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.PubMed PMC
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.

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

Table 1

Distribution of study subjects by age groups 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) Analysis results of the data from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2012 [22]

3) Data from the Size Korea report (6^th 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

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 (6^th 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

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

Figure & Data

REFERENCES

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Nutritional status of North Koreans and related perceptions among South Korean adults
Youngmin Nam, Jihyun Yoon
Korean Journal of Community Nutrition.2024; 29(4): 288. CrossRef
The Present and Future Status of Maternal and Child Health From the Perspective of Unification Medicine
Ji Young Kim, Eun Saem Choi, Ki Hoon Ahn
Journal of The Korean Society of Maternal and Child Health.2022; 26(3): 132. CrossRef
Timely Initiation of Complementary Feeding and Associated Factors among Mothers of Children Aged 6–24 Months in Dessie Referral Hospital, Northeast Ethiopia, 2019
Atsedemariam Andualem, Afework Edmealem, Belachew Tegegne, Lehulu Tilahun, Yitayish Damtie, C. S. Johnston
Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism.2020; 2020: 1. CrossRef
Systematic review of evidence on public health in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
John J Park, Ah-Young Lim, Hyung-Soon Ahn, Andrew I Kim, Soyoung Choi, David HW Oh, Owen Lee-Park, Sharon Y Kim, Sun Jae Jung, Jesse B Bump, Rifat Atun, Hee Young Shin, Kee B Park
BMJ Global Health.2019; 4(2): e001133. CrossRef
Frequently covered diseases in North Korean internal medicine journal Internal Medicine [Naegwa]—Secondary publication
Shin Ha, Yo Han Lee
Science Editing.2019; 6(2): 99. CrossRef

PubReader

Cite

CITE: export Copy Download Format; Close

Download Citation

Download a citation file in RIS format that can be imported by all major citation management software, including EndNote, ProCite, RefWorks, and Reference Manager.

Format:

RIS — For EndNote, ProCite, RefWorks, and most other reference management software
BibTeX — For JabRef, BibDesk, and other BibTeX-specific software

Include:

Citation for the content below
Citation and abstract for the content below

Status of Maternal Nutrition in South and North Korea

Korean J Community Nutr. 2016;21(3):265-273. Published online June 30, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2016.21.3.265

XML Download

Figure

We recommend

Status of Maternal Nutrition in South and North Korea

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

Fig. 1

Status of Maternal Nutrition in South and North Korea

Table 1

Distribution of study subjects by age groups 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) Analysis results of the data from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2012 [22]

3) Data from the Size Korea report (6^th 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

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 (6^th 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

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

Table 1 Distribution of study subjects by age groups 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) Analysis results of the data from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2012 [22]

3) Data from the Size Korea report (6^th 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

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 (6^th 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

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