Obesity is a multifactorial chronic disease influenced by behavioral, environmental, genetic, and psychological factors. One primary determinant of childhood obesity is the presence of dietary factors commonly acquired through the shared home food environment, which parents can greatly influence. Thus, the present study examined the similarity in diet quality between children or adolescents with obesity and their mothers. We analyzed baseline data collected from the Intervention for Children and Adolescent obesity via Activity and Nutrition study. Seventy mother–offspring dyads were identified, which included children and adolescents with obesity aged 8–16 years and their mothers living in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Food or nutrient intake and diet quality were evaluated from 3-day food records. Childhood obesity was defined as body mass index ≥ 95th percentile based on the 2007 Korean National Growth Charts. No significant difference was observed in the diet quality score between children with obesity and their mothers. However, correlation coefficients between mothers and their children’s total Diet Quality Index-International (DQI-I) score (r = 0.30) and subcategories, such as variety (r = 0.29), adequacy (r = 0.43), moderation (r = 0.45), and overall balance (r = 0.30), were positively correlated (p < 0.05). Linear regression analysis of the influence of maternal diet quality on offspring diet quality revealed that the maternal DQI-I score influenced the offspring’s DQI-I score, consistent with our prediction. Further studies with larger and more representative samples are needed to confirm the applicability of our findings to all children and adolescent populations.

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• Prevalence of Obesity and Overweight Among Children in Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia
  Youssef A. Alqahtani, Ayed A. Shati, Ashwag A. Asiri, Samy A. Dawood, Yazan A. Almaker, Abdulmajeed F. AlShahrani, Asma A. Nasser, Seham M. Alqahtani
  Journal of Clinical Medicine.2025; 15(1): 76.     CrossRef

In this study, the effects of a 12-month multidisciplinary education program on the health status, dietary quality, and eating habits of children and adolescents attending community childcare centers were investigated. A total of 88 participants aged 7 to 17 years from 7 community childcare centers in Gyeonggi-do were enrolled. The intervention consisted of 12 multidisciplinary education sessions covering topics such as nutrition, exercise, and psychological education. All participants received the same education, and the effectiveness of the program was evaluated by categorizing them into a high participation group (HPG) and a low participation group (LPG) based on their participation rates. After intervention, in physical activities, moderate-intensity exercise was significantly reduced in the LPG, and there was no significant difference in psychological parameters. However, notable differences were observed in nutritional data. After intervention, intakes of calorie, carbohydrate, protein, and fat were significantly increased in both groups, and in particular, the change was found to be greater in HPG. Additionally, dietary fiber intake compared to the 2015 Korean Dietary Reference Intakes was increased in both groups. Daily food intake also increased dietary fiber intake in HPG, and meat and fruit intake was increased in LPG. In the nutrition quotient, there was a significant difference in HPG’s pre- and post-scores in the diversity category, and in nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR), the NAR of phosphorus was increased in both groups. The findings of this study suggest that multidisciplinary education implemented at community childcare centers primarily enhanced nutrition-related factors rather than physical activity or psychological aspects.