Revision of a Questionnaire to Assess Health Behaviors in Obese Children / 대한소아소화기영양학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased dramatically. It is important to know about life style and dietary habits of the obese children because the treatment of childhood obesity focuses on using behavioral modification techniques. We aimed to develop a questionnaire for the purpose of providing convenient and useful guidance to pediatricians who evaluate and treat obese children. METHODS: Previously developed questionnaire was given to 94 obese children and their parents who had visited clinic for obese children and adolescents. We analyzed response rates on questions and reliability between children and their parents. RESULTS: The response rates on questions were somewhat high. Agreement of paired questions of both parents and children was also moderately high (63~92%). It is acceptable to complete questions by either parents or children alone. Items for hours of playing video games or computer, maternal job, kind of consuming beverage and food outside home were added. CONCLUSION: We concluded that some questions are not needed to be given to both parents and their children. It would be better to have parents record life style of their children and to have children record their food intake with physical activity outside home.