PurposeTo estimate the prevalence of dietary supplement (DS) use, investigate the related factors associated with DS use among preschoolers and support the adequate nutrition.MethodsWe conducted a questionnaire survey of mothers of children aged between 1 and 6 years who visited pediatric clinics in 3 Korean cities (Jeonju, Suncheon, Jeongeup) between October and November 2012 at Presbyterian Medical Center. The responses from 929 questionnaires were analyzed.ResultsApproximately 45.1% of the preschoolers used DS in the past month. The following factors were associated with greater use of DS: older age (p<0.001), whether or not the preschoolers attended kindergarten (p<0.001), higher mother's concern about the nutritional facts (p<0.001), whether or not the mother use DS (p<0.001), whether or not the mother counsel with a doctor or pharmacist about DS use (p<0.001). Vitamin·mineral supplements (77.5%) were the most commonly used DS among the preschoolers, followed by ginseng (49.3%) and probiotics (25.6%). Additionally, of the DS users, 95.9% gave DS to their healthy children. Of the users and non-users, 97.6% and 62.2%, respectively, indicated that they would like to have their children take DS. The information on DS was obtained from family or friends in 48.2% of the DS users and from doctors in only 6.1%.ConclusionApproximately half of the preschoolers in our study used DS, which might not have been medically indicated for most of them. Therefore, the role of professionals in counseling on desirable diet behaviors and DS use for preschoolers is warranted.
Purpose: To evaluate current complementary feeding and maternal nutritional knowledge of a multicultural family in Korea. Methods: Foreign mothers of babies aged 9∼24 months, who visited pediatric clinics or attended a meeting on a multicultural family party between December 2010 and April 2011, were asked to fill out questionnaires. Data from 146 questionnaires were analyzed. Results: Complementary food was introduced at 4∼7 months in 78% of babies. The following were the sources of information on complementary feeding: friends (34%), relatives (27%), books/magazines (19%), multicultural family educational support center (8%), mass media (4%), and hospitals (3%). The cases of complementary food introduction after 8 months (21% vs. 10%, p<0.001), initial use of commercial food (26% vs. 6%, P<0.001) and initial use of bottle feeding (15% vs. 3%, p<0.001) were more frequent compared to the 2009 Korean survey. Mothers agreeing with the following suggestions were relatively fewer: feeding minced meat from 6∼7 months (61%), No mixed cereal powder as complementary food (61%), feeding egg white after 12 months (63%), no adding salt or sugar to the complementary food (64%), bottle weaning before 15∼18 months (66%) and considering formula better than soy milk (68%). Conclusion: Complementary feeding practices of multicultural families showed many points of improvement compared with the 2009 Korean survey. Pediatricians should make more of an effort to consult with families of multicultural infants about nutrition and complementary feeding. Also, the government and the pediatrics academy need to institute policies to support the nutrition of multicultural infants. (Korean J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2011; 14: 286∼298)
The aim of this study was to evaluate thyroid dysfunction in obese children in Korea.Method: We measured body mass index and thyroid hormone in obese, overweight, and normal weight children who visited a pediatric clinic in Jeonju, Korea, from January 2009 to September 2012. Results: The free thyroxoine (FT4) level of the obese group (16.35 ± 2.79 pmol/L) was lower than levels of the overweight (17.65 ± 2.31 pmol/L) and normal weight (17.28 ± 2.35 pmol/L; P=0.012) groups. The average value of FT4 in severely obese children (15.71 ± 1.68 pmol/L) was lower than those of mildly and moderately obese children (16.40 ± 2.88 pmol/L). We found no significant difference in thyroid stimulating hormone level between the obese group and normal weight group. Conclusion:The FT4 level is lower in obese children than in normal weight children.
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