Nahee Kim, Young Gyu Cho, Jae-Heon Kang, Hyun Ah Park, Kyoungwoo Kim, Yang-Im Hur, Duho Kwon

Department of Family Medicine, Seoul Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea


Background: Many studies have reported that adolescents living with single parent have a high risk of obesity. However, those studies did not explore the implication of the gender of single parent living with adolescents. This study investigated the differences in obesity rates according to status of co- residence with their parents in Korean adolescents. The family living with single parent was classified into the family living with single father and the family living with single mother.
Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 59,602 adolescents who participated in the 2017 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. The data on height, weight, status of co-residence with parents, and the other variables were obtained through online questionnaires.
Results: In male adolescents, the family living with single mother was related to a high proportion of obesity (odds ratio [OR] 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09-1.40) and overweight (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.03-1.34). However, in female adolescents, the family living with single father was related to a high proportion of obesity (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.23-1.82). In addition, female adolescents living with neither parent were more likely to be obese (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.13-1.91) and overweight (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.00-1.70).
Conclusions: This study showed a risk of obesity in adolescents living with single parent differs according to the gender of single parent living with adolescents. Not adolescents living with a same-gender parent, but those living with an opposite-gender parent have a high risk of obesity.
Korean J Health Promot 2018;18(4):177-183

Keywords: Parents, Single-parent family, Adolescent, Obesity