Has the prevalence of malnutrition and obesity in children from North Korean refugee families improved after resettlement in South Korea? A longitudinal cohort study
Objectives This study assessed changes in the prevalence of malnutrition and obesity in children from North Korean (NK) refugee families resettling in South Korea (SK).Design A longitudinal cohort study.Setting This study, conducted between 2017 and 2023, recruited participants through snowball samp...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2025-07-01
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| author | So-Yeong Kim Seong-Woo Choi |
| author_facet | So-Yeong Kim Seong-Woo Choi |
| author_sort | So-Yeong Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives This study assessed changes in the prevalence of malnutrition and obesity in children from North Korean (NK) refugee families resettling in South Korea (SK).Design A longitudinal cohort study.Setting This study, conducted between 2017 and 2023, recruited participants through snowball sampling using local Hana Centres, alternative schools, religious organisations, civic groups, and other community-based networks.Participants Of the 441 children initially recruited, 406 participated in the baseline survey after excluding 35 with missing height or weight data. Among them, 187 (46.1%) completed a follow-up survey conducted at least 1 year later.Primary outcome measures The prevalences of stunting, underweight, wasting and obesity were defined according to the 2017 Korean National Growth Chart: stunting as height-for-age below the third percentile, underweight as weight-for-age below the fifth percentile, wasting as weight-for-height below the fifth percentile for ages 0–23 months or body mass index (BMI)-for-age below the fifth percentile for ages 2–18 years and obesity as BMI-for-age at or above the 95th percentile for ages 2–18 years.Results The prevalence of stunting was 7.5% at baseline and 5.4% at follow-up, while those of underweight and wasting were 6.4% vs 5.4% and 11.2% vs 5.9%, respectively; however, none of these changes were statistically significant. In contrast, the prevalence of obesity increased significantly from 11.1% at baseline to 18.8% at follow-up (p=0.045).Conclusion Despite residing in SK for an extended period, children from NK refugee families continue to experience malnutrition, while the prevalence of obesity is rising significantly. |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-17d0497010004115aa43ed8294afaa212025-08-20T02:37:21ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552025-07-0115710.1136/bmjopen-2024-091072Has the prevalence of malnutrition and obesity in children from North Korean refugee families improved after resettlement in South Korea? A longitudinal cohort studySo-Yeong Kim0Seong-Woo Choi1Department of Preventive Medicine, Chosun University College of Medicine, Gwangju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Preventive Medicine, Chosun University College of Medicine, Gwangju, Republic of KoreaObjectives This study assessed changes in the prevalence of malnutrition and obesity in children from North Korean (NK) refugee families resettling in South Korea (SK).Design A longitudinal cohort study.Setting This study, conducted between 2017 and 2023, recruited participants through snowball sampling using local Hana Centres, alternative schools, religious organisations, civic groups, and other community-based networks.Participants Of the 441 children initially recruited, 406 participated in the baseline survey after excluding 35 with missing height or weight data. Among them, 187 (46.1%) completed a follow-up survey conducted at least 1 year later.Primary outcome measures The prevalences of stunting, underweight, wasting and obesity were defined according to the 2017 Korean National Growth Chart: stunting as height-for-age below the third percentile, underweight as weight-for-age below the fifth percentile, wasting as weight-for-height below the fifth percentile for ages 0–23 months or body mass index (BMI)-for-age below the fifth percentile for ages 2–18 years and obesity as BMI-for-age at or above the 95th percentile for ages 2–18 years.Results The prevalence of stunting was 7.5% at baseline and 5.4% at follow-up, while those of underweight and wasting were 6.4% vs 5.4% and 11.2% vs 5.9%, respectively; however, none of these changes were statistically significant. In contrast, the prevalence of obesity increased significantly from 11.1% at baseline to 18.8% at follow-up (p=0.045).Conclusion Despite residing in SK for an extended period, children from NK refugee families continue to experience malnutrition, while the prevalence of obesity is rising significantly.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/7/e091072.full |
| spellingShingle | So-Yeong Kim Seong-Woo Choi Has the prevalence of malnutrition and obesity in children from North Korean refugee families improved after resettlement in South Korea? A longitudinal cohort study BMJ Open |
| title | Has the prevalence of malnutrition and obesity in children from North Korean refugee families improved after resettlement in South Korea? A longitudinal cohort study |
| title_full | Has the prevalence of malnutrition and obesity in children from North Korean refugee families improved after resettlement in South Korea? A longitudinal cohort study |
| title_fullStr | Has the prevalence of malnutrition and obesity in children from North Korean refugee families improved after resettlement in South Korea? A longitudinal cohort study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Has the prevalence of malnutrition and obesity in children from North Korean refugee families improved after resettlement in South Korea? A longitudinal cohort study |
| title_short | Has the prevalence of malnutrition and obesity in children from North Korean refugee families improved after resettlement in South Korea? A longitudinal cohort study |
| title_sort | has the prevalence of malnutrition and obesity in children from north korean refugee families improved after resettlement in south korea a longitudinal cohort study |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/7/e091072.full |
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