Background
It has been reported that the abdominal obesity can cause various metabolic abnormalities not only in adults but also in adolescents. This study was conducted to investigate lifestyle habits related to abdominal obesity in Korean adolescents. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study on 561 adolescents (305 boys and 256 girls) aged 12-18 years from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005. The abdominal obesity was defined as waist circumference at or above the 90th percentile for each age and gender based on the 2007 growth chart for Korean children. The frequency of physical activity, screen time, and the intake amount of energy and macronutrients were investigated as lifestyle habits. Results: The prevalence of abdominal obesity in Korean adolescents aged 12-18 years was 9.1% (Boys, 9.4%; Girls, 8.7%). The mean of daily screen time was 4.3 ± 0.1 hours (Boys, 4.4 ± 0.2 hours; Girls, 4.2 ± 0.2 hours). The subjects with daily screen time ≥ 5 hours had a 3.0 times increased risk of abdominal obesity compared to subjects with daily screen time < 3 hours (P-value = 0.004). The adjusted odds ratio of fat intake ≥ 35% of energy was 2.57 (95% confidence interval, 1.16 to 5.68; P-value = 0.020) with fat intake < 25% of energy as reference. The relationship between long screen time and abdominal obesity was observed in girls and high fat intake was related to abdominal obesity in boys. Conclusion: This study shows that abdominal obesity in Korean adolescents is associated to long screen time and high fat intake.

Citations

• Analysis of risk factors affecting obesity in Korean adolescents: based on the 2017–2020 Korea national health and nutrition examination survey
  Joon Young Kim, Kyungchul Song, Youngha Choi, Byung-Sun Choi, Hyun Wook Chae
  Frontiers in Nutrition.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Macronutrients modified dietary intervention in the management of overweight/obese children and adolescents: a systematic review
  Jihyun Park, Oh Yoen Kim
  Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics.2024; 67(4): 191.     CrossRef
• Association between sedentary behavior, screen time and metabolic syndrome among Chinese children and adolescents
  Xue Cheng, Qiya Guo, Lahong Ju, Weiyi Gong, Xiaoqi Wei, Xiaoli Xu, Liyun Zhao, Hongyun Fang
  BMC Public Health.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Relationship between Obesity and Lifestyle Factors in Young Korean Women: the Seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016
  Jeon Won Kwak, Chan Hee Jeon, Min Ho Kwak, Jeong Hyeon Kim, Yong Soon Park
  Korean Journal of Health Promotion.2019; 19(1): 9.     CrossRef
• Is it Time to Adopt Information Technology in Play Therapy?
  Aram Lee, Mi Ae Oh, Jin Cheol Park, Se Young Jin, Ram Hwangbo, Seong Woo Cho, Geon Ho Bahn
  Psychoanalysis.2017; 28(2): 28.     CrossRef
• The Role of Uncontrolled Eating and Screen Time in the Link of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder with Weight in Late Childhood
  Joung-Sook Ahn, Seongho Min, Min-Hyuk Kim
  Psychiatry Investigation.2017; 14(6): 808.     CrossRef
• Eating habits, physical activity, nutrition knowledge, and self-efficacy by obesity status in upper-grade elementary school students
  Seong Ah Ha, Seo Yeon Lee, Kyung A Kim, Jung Sook Seo, Cheong Min Sohn, Hae Ryun Park, Kyung Won Kim
  Nutrition Research and Practice.2016; 10(6): 597.     CrossRef
• The Effects of Lifestyle Factors on Metabolic Syndrome among Adolescents
  Hanju Lee
  Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing.2014; 28(2): 270.     CrossRef
• Increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome among hypertensive population
  So-Ryoung Lee, Myung-Jin Cha, Do-Yoon Kang, Kyu-Chul Oh, Dong-Ho Shin, Hae-Young Lee
  International Journal of Cardiology.2013; 166(3): 633.     CrossRef
• A Study of Body Composition, Dietary Behavior, and Exercise among Students at Women's Colleges
  Ji-Yon Eom, Duk-Yoo Jung
  Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing.2012; 26(1): 28.     CrossRef
• Obesity Index and Related Factors among Elementary School Students Visiting Pediatric Department of General Hospital
  Hwan-Hee Lee, Soo-Kyong Choi, Jung-Sook Seo
  Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association.2012; 18(2): 186.     CrossRef

Background
Children of obese parents are more likely to be obese themselves. Parental lifestyle habits could induce or aggravate children's obesity. This study was conducted to assess the relationship between parental lifestyle habits and children's overweight. Methods: Children who were enrolled in this study were first grade students from elementary schools in Gwacheon and Seoul. A total of 121 children (50 overweight children and 71 normal weight children) and their parents underwent anthropometric measurements and also were surveyed by a questionnaire. Results: The children of obese parents were more likely to be diagnosed as overweight compared to the children whose parents were normal weight (Father: P=0.037, Mother: P=0.001). Among the paternal lifestyle habits, hours of watching TV or computer usage (adjusted odd ratio =2.08, 95% CI=0.90∼4.80) and eating frequency of soda, ice cream, cake and chips (adjusted OR=5.77, 95% CI=1.65∼20.22) were found to be related to their children being overweight. Among the maternal lifestyle habits, hours of watching TV or computer usage (adjusted OR=2.35, 95% CI=0.99∼5.58), the frequency of eating breakfast (adjusted OR: 2.48, 95% CI=1.07∼5.75) and the frequency of overeating (adjusted OR: 2.15, 95% CI=0.91∼5.11) were found to be related to their children being overweight. Additive adjustment of children's lifestyle habits made the relationship between maternal lifestyle habits and children's overweight reduced. However, the odds ratio of paternal lifestyle habits was not reduced. Conclusion: Parental obesigenic lifestyle habits were related to children's overweight. Maternal lifestyle habits could affect her children's weight via an effect on her children's lifestyle habits. (J Korean Acad Fam Med 2008; 29:395-404)