Relationships between Obesity and Dietary Habits of Preschool Children and Their Parents in Dongducheon Based on the Nutrition Quotient (NQ)

Exploring the Causes of Obesity Among Adults in the Kurdish Regions of Iran: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Obesity is one of the most important public health problems in the world, which is occurred by various factors. The purpose of this study is to explore the causes of obesity in the Kurdish regions of Iran with a qualitative approach.

METHODS

A qualitative content analysis study was conducted in the Kurdish regions of Iran from June 2019 to November 2019. The data were collected by holding focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with 111 obese and thin men and women, and experts from different fields, who were selected through purposive sampling. Additionally, the data were analyzed by the conventional content analysis approach following the steps proposed by Graneheim and Lundman. The researchers used ATLAS.ti (Version 2019) software for data analysis and management. Lincoln and Guba's criteria were used to assess the quality of the research.

RESULTS

The results of the data analysis were classified into 5 categories and 16 sub-categories. The main categories included the modern lifestyle, sociocultural norms, indigenous culture of nutrition, lack of institutionalization of exercise, and low health literacy.

CONCLUSION

Changing people's beliefs and values ​​about obesity and thinness, changing the dietary habits of individuals, expanding and institutionalizing exercise and physical activity, and enhancing health literacy can prevent and control obesity.

Evaluation of dietary behaviors of preschool children in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do associated with the level of parents' health consciousness: using nutrition quotient for preschoolers (NQ-P)

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to assess the dietary behaviors of preschool children using the nutrition quotient for preschoolers (NQ-P) and analyzed the difference in the scores of the children's dietary behaviors in regards to the parents' health consciousness.

SUBJECTS/METHODS

The subjects were 257 children aged 3–5 years and their parents residing in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. The questionnaire is composed of demographic characteristics, the NQ-P questions, and health consciousness. All data were statistically analyzed by SPSS program (ver. 25.0) and the statistical differences in variables were evaluated by χ² test, Fisher's exact test, t-test, 1-way analysis of variance and Tukey's multiple comparison test.

RESULTS

There was a significant difference on the intake frequency of processed meat by region and fast foods by age, region, and weight status (P < 0.05). There was also a significant difference in not moving around while eating by weight status and parents' effort to have healthy eating habits by sex (P < 0.05). The mean score of NQ-P of the total subjects was 59.47, which was within the medium-low grade. The mean score of balance was 61.62, and the boys were significantly higher than girls (P < 0.05). As the age of children increased, the mean score of the moderation was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). The scores of NQ-P (P < 0.05), balance (P < 0.01), and environment (P < 0.05) were significantly higher in the high group of parents' health consciousness than the low group.

CONCLUSIONS

According to the results of the evaluation by NQ-P, the dietary behaviors of preschoolers residing in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do need to be improved. For improving their eating behavior and nutritional health status, parents and children need customized nutrition education programs based on sex, age, region and weight status of preschool children as well as the degree of parents' health consciousness.