Recent years have seen an increase in the number of pregnant women whose weight gain during pregnancy exceeds the recommended range. This study was intended to determine the relationships among demographic attributes, key perceptual factors, and gestational weight gain (GWG).

This cross-sectional study was conducted between April and July 2022. First-time pregnant women beyond 36 weeks of gestation who were recruited via social media completed an online survey. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, chi-square test, and logistic regression, all performed using SPSS software.

Of the 369 participants, 63 (17.1%) exceeded the recommended GWG guidelines, while 148 (40.1%) fell within the recommended range, and the remaining 158 (42.8%) had inadequate GWG. Being overweight or obese before pregnancy significantly increased the risk of excessive GWG (p < .001). This risk was also significantly greater for women with low internal weight locus of control (OR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.41~0.82), high external weight locus of control (OR = 1.75, 95% CI 1.31~2.34), and negative body image (OR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.51~0.75).

The growing trend of excessive GWG among pregnant women is influenced by a combination of prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and perceptual factors, including weight locus of control and body image. These findings underscore the need to implement weight management intervention strategies before pregnancy, taking into consideration BMI, and to enhance positive body image and internal locus of control.

This study aimed to identify the effects of utilizing Smartphone Application Peer Support (SAPS) on health behavior and body mass index (BMI) among overweight or obese breast cancer survivors (BCS).

A nonequivalent control group with a non-synchronized design was utilized and 36 participants (experimental group 14, control group 22) were recruited from August 2017 to September 2018. Participants were 40~65 years old, overweight or obese, had completed primary cancer treatment within the 12 months prior to the study, and had not done regular exercise during the last 6 months. The 3-month SAPS consisted of exercise and diet education (once p/2 weeks), peer support (once p/week), and self-monitoring using smartphone applications (5 times p/week). All participants underwent assessments at baseline, right after SAPS, and at 3 months after SAPS. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA.

At the completion of SAPS significant differences were found between groups in motivation for exercise (t=-3.24, p=.005), physical activity (t=-4.15, p<.001), total calorie intake (t=3.42, p=.002), calories from fat (t=-3.01, p=.005), intake of vegetables (t=-2.83, p=.008), and BMI (t=5.21, p<.001). Significant differences in BMI (t=4.13, p<.001) remained up to 3 months after SAPS completion. No significant differences was shown between groups in self-efficacy for exercise, either immediately after or 3 months after SAPS.

The SAPS has the potential to improve motivation for exercise, health behavior, and BMI of BCS. However, special efforts are required to encourage participants to complete the intervention and maintain long-term effects for future trials.

This cross-sectional survey was conducted to describe the sexuality of Korean women after menopause using a national sample, and to examine relationships between the sexuality and demographic, body mass index, and life style factors including smoking, alcohol use, and physical activity.

From Dec. 20, 1998 to April 30, 1999, 2196 naturally postmenopausal women aged between 41 and 65 years were recruited by a disproportional stratified random sampling method from 7 metropolitans and 6 provinces in Korea. The questionnaire was used to obtain information on the demographic characteristics, life style factors, body mass index, and sexual activities.

The findings show that the frequency of intercourse after menopause decreased among most of postmenopausal Korean women (64.5%). The frequency of women reported their sexual activity as satisfactory was higher among women doing physical activity, not smoking, with higher educational status, with middle socioeconomic status, without sleep disturbance, with lower body mass index, and with good subjective health status.

Further studies need to be designed as the longitudinal studies with larger random samples and better measures of sexuality.

This study was done to examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and any type of clinical dementia.

Participants were 60,321 people over 60 years of age enrolled in the Seoul Dementia Management Project in 2011. K-MMSE was used to classify participants as having a cognitive impairment and the Clinical Dementia Rating or DSM-IV by psychiatrists or neurologists to determine whether participants were in the dementia group or the non-dementia group. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and binary logistic regression analysis were performed.

In the univariate analysis, age, education level, living with spouse, BMI, alcohol consumption, and exercise were significantly associated with dementia. In multivariable analysis, increasing age was positively associated with dementia, and educational level was negatively associated with dementia. The exercise group had a lower prevalence of dementia than the non-exercise group. The odds ratio of dementia in the over-weight and obese groups compared to the normal group was 0.85 (95% CI 0.60, 0.98) and 0.64 (95%CI 0.46, 0.75), respectively.

Results indicate that dementia is negatively associated with increasing BMI in people aged 60 years or older, but a prospective cohort study is needed to elucidate the causal effect relationship between BMI and dementia.

This study was done to examine not only the relationships between body mass index (BMI), self-esteem, body image dissatisfaction (BID) and mental health, according to gender, but the mediating role of BID on mental health in relation to BMI and self-esteem among early adolescents.

Data from 576 (296 boys and 280 girls) elementary school students in grades 5 to 6 were collected. A multiple-group path analysis was utilized to examine the relationships between BMI, self-esteem, BID and mental health by gender.

In the path analysis for all students, poor mental health was related directly to BID, while it was indirectly related to BMI and self-esteem. In the multiple-group path analysis of both genders, BID was found to have a significant direct and indirect effect on mental health for girls alone.

The findings suggested that BID should be examined early to prevent poor mental health in early adolescent girls. This study helps to elucidate the role of early adolescent BID on mental health and provides insight for further prevention and intervention programs in school and community mental health settings.

To compare and confirm the impact of prepregnancy body mass index on pregnancy outcome in women with a singleton conceived by assisted reproductive technology and spontaneously conceived pregnancy.

A sample of 165 and 247 pregnant women with and without assisted reproductive technology were retrospectively recruited from electronic medical charts of C hospital.

There were significant differences between the two groups for maternal age, paternal age, length of marriage, prepregnancy body mass index, parity, spontaneous abortion experience, and preterm delivery. A prepregnancy body mass index of ≥25 was associated with higher risk for maternal and neonatal complication in the assisted reproductive technology group.

The results indicate that a higher prepregnancy body mass index is associated with increased risks for adverse pregnancy outcomes for women using assisted reproductive technology. So these women need appropriate care to compensate for the risk.

The study was conducted to describe body shapes of school age children using the degree of obesity index (DOI) and body mass index obesity index classified by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (M-BOI) and Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (S-BOI).

In this cross sectional descriptive study health screening data for school children collected in 2007 was used.

Data were analyzed for 2,193 4th-6th grade boys (52%) and girls who attended 4 schools in rural areas. DOI determined that only 44.3% of students had average weight. This proportion was much lower than the results of other methods (74.3-77.6%). All three methods defined girls (51.3-61.8%) as skinnier than boys. Skinny and average body shaped children classified by DOI and obese children classified by S-BOI were heavier and taller and presented higher degrees of obesity (DO) and BMI scores than by other methods. M-BOI and S-BOI presented statistically significant positive correlations with weight, height, DO and BMI, while DOI was not correlated with height.

BMI based body shape classifications provide a more rigorous classification of body shape which are favorable for school health professionals with limited resources and policy makers for internationally comparable references.

This study was done to investigate the effects of breast-feeding education and support services on rate of breast-feeding three and six months after birth, and the effect on infant's growth (weight, height, body mass index [BMI]). The experimental group which had both education and support services was compared with the control group which had only breast-feeding education.

This study was a quasi-experimental study with a time-series design. The participants were 39 mothers who were hospitalized for childbirth. Twenty mother were assigned to the experimental group and 19 mothers, to the control group. The breast feeding education was done during hospitalization, and support services were provided once a week after discharge for a month (a total 4 times) by a maternity ward nurse. Data regarding breastfeeding rate at one month after childbirth was collected by phone call; the breast-feeding rates at three and six months after childbirth were collected in a visit to the families. The child's weight and height were also measured during the visit.

The experimental group had a statistically significant higher rate for frequency of breast-feeding at one, three and six months after childbirth than the control group. However, there was no meaningful difference between the two groups for infant growth.

The results of this study suggest that breast-feeding education is helpful for a start, but support services are also necessary to sustain breast-feeding.

This study was done to examine the difference in cancer screening with mammography and Papanicolaou smear according to Body Mass Index (BMI).

The participants in this study were 5,912 women ages 40 to 69 yr, selected from the Korean Genomic Regional Cohort in Kangwon province. Mammography and Papanicolaou smear were assessed by questionnaire and body weight (kg) and height (m) measured to calculate BMI.

The distribution of BMI was as follows: low weight (1.5%), normal weight (31.1%), over weight (24.6%), mildly obese (36.4%) and severely obese (6.3%). After adjusting for age, education and monthly income, compared with normal weight women, overweight women (odds ratio [OR]=1.283, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.089-1.513) and mildly obese women (OR=1.214, 95% CI=1.048-1.406) were less likely to have had mammography. In contrast to mammography, cancer screening with Papanicolaou smear was not significantly different by BMI.

Obese women in rural areas are less likely to screen for breast cancer by using mammography than non obese women. To ensure regular screening for breast cancer, health care providers need to give scrupulous care to obese women and remove barriers originated from obesity. Also, educational and clinical implications are considered to increase the Papanicolaou smear rate.