The study of metabolic risk factors and dietary intake in adolescent children by the status of mothers' metabolic syndrome: Using the data from 2007-2010 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey / 한국영양학회지

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Korea has been increasing in adults, as well as in adolescents. Recently the prevalence of MetS in children has been reported to strongly link that of MetS in parents. Families are known to share similar food environment so that eating habits of parents closely resemble that of the children's. Therefore, the aim of this study to examine metabolic risk factors and dietary intake in children by with respect to mother's metabolic syndrome, based on the data from Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2007-2010. Using the household variable and the eldest child per household, 1,341 pairs of mothers and children were selected. The mothers were defined by MetS criteria, and then the children were classified into the following three groups in accordance to the mothers' MetS; children whose mothers had none, 1-2, and 3 or more components of MetS. All dietary data were evaluated using the data from a food frequency questionnaire. The mean age was 42.6 +/- 4.2 years for the mothers, and 14.9 +/- 2.0 years for the children. Children whose mothers had 3 or more components of MetS showed a significantly higher prevalence of overweight and higher level of fasting triglyceride; conversely, they showed a lower level of serum HDL-cholesterol compared to the other two groups. Regarding an agreement of food consumption between the mothers and children, most food groups showed high agreement, except in the category of beverages. Regarding the dietary habits and family meals, children whose mothers had 3 or more components of MetS were more likely to skip breakfast and less likely to have family meals at breakfast or snack. In conclusion, the children's metabolic risk factors and dietary factors were different with respect to the status of mothers' MetS. Further studies are necessary to examine the causal effect of family environment in children's health status.