Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of obesity and to examine the eating habits of elementary school students in Kwangju. The study was carried out on 931 students(male : 454, female : 477) in September and October of 1996. The results are summarized as follows ; Obesity was defined as body mass index(BMI) that exceeds 20. The rate of obesity was 10.0%(male 4.7$\%$, female 5.3$\%$) in subjects. Subjects were divided into 3 groups : normal group(BMI〈20), mildly obese group(20〈BMI〈25), and moderatly obese group(25〈BMI〈30), respectively. With regard to frequency of skipping breakfast, 9.1$\%$ of normal children and 17.5$\%$ of mildly obese children and 33.3$\%$ of moderately obese children had skipping every morning(p$\ll$0.001). With regard to the regularity of meal time, 62.1$\%$ of normal children had ‘regular meals’but 58.0$\%$ of mild obese children and 50.0$\%$ of moderate obese children had‘irregular meals’(p$\ll$0.05). With regard to meal volume, obese children consumed much more meal volume than normal children(breakfast p$\ll$0.001, lunch p〈0.005, dinner p$\ll$0.001). With regard to try to lose weight, 22.9$\%$ of normal children and 55.6$\%$ of mild obese children and 83.3$\%$ of moderated obese children indicated they had attempted(p$\ll$0.001). The results of this study showed that the prevalence of obesity in elementary school students in Kwangju has a tendency to be increased. Obese children need to correct their eating habits. This reasserts the importance of nutrition education in children through teachers, parents and dietitians. The findings of this study should be applied to nutrition education to ensure better physical fitness of children. (Korean J Community Nutrition 2(4) : 486-495, 1997)
