All issues > Volume 51(3); 2008

Original Article

Korean J Pediatr. 2008;51(3):248-255. Published online March 15, 2008.

A study on the attitudes of middle school students concerning height

Won Derk WD Lee¹, Jae Wook JW Lieu¹, Jun Wha JW Lee¹, Joo Seok JS Lee¹, Kyung Lae KL Cho¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, Masan Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Masan, Korea

Correspondence Kyung Lae KL Cho ,Email: pedikyung@yahoo.co.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of middle-school students about height and their behaviors related to height gain.
Methods
: One thousand four hundred twenty two middle-school students were included. We requested that the students complete a battery of questionnaires asking about problems associated with height.
Results
: There was a clear difference between real height and desired height. Most students (83.7%) had height dissatisfaction. Most students (91.1%) were concerned about their height. Few students made efforts to improve their height, even though most students had height dissatisfaction and were concerned about their height. Herbal medicine had a tendency to become popularized in treatments for height. Students generally did not judge their friends by height, but there was a small tendency to ignore shorter friends and to feel a sense of inferiority around taller friends. Most students had a greater desire to have a beautiful face than a good body, especially to be tall. Most students thought that there would be some handicaps in life if they had a short stature.
Conclusion
: The attitudes and concerns about height in adolescence should be understood, and recognized as one aspect of treatment for problems associated with height.

Keywords :Height