Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life (동아시아식생활학회지)

The East Asian Society of Dietary Life (동아시아식생활학회)
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Obesity-related Stress, Food Group Intake, and Physical Activity in Mothers and Their Children

어머니의 비만 스트레스와 어머니 및 유아 자녀의 비만도, 식품 섭취 및 활동량에 대한 연구

  • Ha, Ae-Wha (Dept. of Food and Nutrition, Soong Eui Women's College) ;
  • Kim, Jong-Hwa (Dept. of Early Childhood Education, Soong Eui Women's College) ;
  • Yoo, Kyong-Suk (Dept. of Early Childhood Education, Soong Eui Women's College)
  • 하애화 (숭의여자대학 식품영양과) ;
  • 김정화 (숭의여자대학 유아교육과) ;
  • 유경숙 (숭의여자대학 유아교육과)
  • Published : 2008.10.31
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Abstract

The mother's obesity-related stress and it's association with obesity, food intake, and physical activity in both mothers and their children were determined. Based on self-reports from 470 mothers, obesity stress of mothers were scored by using a five-point Likert scale; only low and high stress scores were used in this study. The perceptions of mothers' weights and their children's weights, mothers' Body Mass Indices (BMI), and preschoolers' Weight-Length Indices (WLI)(%) were also determined. The obesity stress of mothers was significantly associated with the mothers' BMI (high stress: $23.5{\pm}2.4$ vs. low stress: $19.6{\pm}1.7$, p<0.05), but not with their children's obesity. Mothers with a high obesity stress reported a higher percentage of family history of obesity (62.1% vs. 38.3%, p<0.001) than mothers with low obesity stress. Compared to mothers with low obesity stress, mothers with high stress had lower correct-perceptions about their weights (p<0.05) but higher correct-perceptions for their children's weights. Almost 54.5% of mothers with high stress reported watching television 2 or more extra hours per day, compared with 32.2% of mothers with low stress (p<0.05). More children of mothers with high stress had long hours of daily TV viewing than children of mothers with low stress (36.0% vs. 15.3%, $X^2=10.491$, p<0.05). Mothers with high stress reported lower intake of protein-rich foods (p=0.01) and vegetables (p=0.039), but a higher intake of snacks (p=0.009), compared to mothers with low stress. More children of mothers with high stress reported eating high fat snacks or high sugar snacks everyday, but this was not statistically significant. In conclusion, high obesity stress in mothers were greatly associated with their BMI and their inactive life style, including long TV viewing hours per day and unbalanced food intakes, which can lead their children becoming inactive and obese. Special attention is recommended for overstressed mothers and their children, especially those who enjoy long hours of TV viewing.

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