Purpose
Community child centers (CCCs) were introduced to provide after-school activities and care, including meal services to children from low-income families. The assistant cooks, who have the main responsibility for making and serving food at CCCs, are a major factor influencing the eating habits of children using CCCs. In this study, we tried to identify and understand who the assistant cooks are, what their job responsibilities are, and what they need in order to be able to provide children with healthy meals.
Methods
Three focus group interviews were held with 17 workfare program participants who worked as assistant cooks at CCCs, and content analysis methods were applied using the NVivo 12 qualitative data analysis software.
Results
The assistant cooks reflected on their perceptions of the children's health at the CCCs, their own cooking style, and their role at the CCCs. Additionally, barriers to the optimal provision of their services were pointed out, and improvements were suggested.
Conclusion
The results of this study can be used as a fundamental resource for the development of tailored interventions that consider a child's unique environment to address health disparities, specifically with respect to childhood obesity.

Citations

• Diet-Related Disparities and Childcare Food Environments for Vulnerable Children in South Korea: A Mixed-Methods Study
  Jiyoung Park, Seolhyang Baek, Gahui Hwang, Chongwon Park, Sein Hwang
  Nutrients.2023; 15(8): 1940.     CrossRef
• An Interactive Live and Online Cooking Program for Children in Vulnerable Families—An Exploratory Study
  Jiyoung Park, Sein Hwang, Seolhyang Baek, Gill A. Ten Hoor
  Healthcare.2022; 10(12): 2389.     CrossRef

Purpose
The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of preschooler obesity/overweight and to identify associated factors.
Methods
This study was a cross-sectional study. Data for 591 preschoolers, 432 fathers and 538 mothers from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013-2014 were included. Obesity/overweight was defined by 2007 Korean National Growth Charts. T-test, Rao-Scott χ2, multivariate logistic regression was used for the analysis.
Results
Prevalence rates for preschooler obesity/overweight were 14.9% (obesity, 5.4%; overweight, 9.5%). The preschoolers with atopic dermatitis or allergic rhinitis or asthma (OR=2.78, 95% CI [1.27-6.09], p=.011) and eating more thiamine per day (OR=1.01, 95% CI [1.00-1.02], p=.001) showed higher obesity/overweight development. The only parental factor affecting preschooler obesity/overweight was parental body mass index (father, OR=1.18, 95% CI [1.09-1.28], p<.001; mother, OR=1.09, 95% CI [1.04-1.15], p<.001).
Conclusion
Interventions on preventing preschooler obesity should be introduced much earlier for children with risk factors. Results from this study can be used as preliminary data to develop effective strategies to prevent obesity in Korean preschoolers.

Citations

• Validation of the Korean Version of the Nutrition Screening Tool for Every Preschooler (NutriSTEP ® ): Using the Rasch Model
  So Hyun Park, Youn-Jung Son, Hanjong Park
  Journal of the American Nutrition Association.2025; : 1.     CrossRef
• Analysis of the factors that influence preschool children eating behavior by applying the health belief model: Seoul and Gyeonggi Province
  Sung-Mi Cha, Soo-Youn Kim
  Nutrition Research and Practice.2023; 17(3): 541.     CrossRef
• Social Ecological Factors for Adolescent Obesity: Using the 2021 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data
  Kyong Sil Park
  Journal of Health Informatics and Statistics.2023; 48(3): 233.     CrossRef
• Relationship between the Dietary Behavior of Young Children and Their Mothers in Daejeon, Korea Using the Nutrition Quotient for Preschoolers and Adults
  InYoung Jeong, SuJin Song
  Korean Journal of Community Nutrition.2021; 26(1): 12.     CrossRef
• Risk Factors in Early Life for Preschool Children in Korea that are Associated with Being Overweight or Obese
  Jin Suk Ra, Hyun Jung Yun
  Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives.2020; 11(1): 15.     CrossRef
• Relations among Maternal Employment, Depressive Symptoms, Breastfeeding Duration, and Body Mass Index Trajectories in Early Childhood
  Jihyoung Kim
  Journal of The Korean Society of Maternal and Chil.2020; 24(2): 75.     CrossRef
• Factors associated with Obesity among Korean Adolescents based on the Seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016)
  Hyun Young Koo, Eun Kyung Lee
  Child Health Nursing Research.2019; 25(1): 28.     CrossRef
• Assessment of dietary behaviors among preschoolers in Daejeon: using Nutrition Quotient for Preschoolers (NQ-P)
  Hye-Jin Lee, Jin Hee Kim, SuJin Song
  Journal of Nutrition and Health.2019; 52(2): 194.     CrossRef
• Association between Body Mass Index and Dental Caries : Based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013 - 2015
  Jihye Jang, Miso Lee, Jaegon Kim, Yeonmi Yang, Daewoo Lee
  THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN ACADEMY OF PEDTATRIC DEN.2019; 46(3): 283.     CrossRef