This study investigated the potential role of dietary factors associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Koreans. The scoping review method was used to evaluate the studies that utilized the secondary data sets comprising the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) and the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES). Articles published between 2012 and 2022 were identified using RISS, KISS, DBpia, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases. In all, there were 32 published articles on obesity and 119 on MetS. Obesity research included eight articles on nutrients, 12 on food items/food groups, two on dietary patterns, nine on dietary behavior/eating habits, and one on the dietary index. MetS studies comprised 34 articles on nutrients, 43 on food items/food groups, seven on dietary patterns, 25 on dietary behavior/eating habits, and 10 on the dietary index. Carbohydrates, alcohol, and coffee consumption were the most frequently studied dietary factors for obesity and MetS. The primary areas of study were largely focused on nutrients and food items/food groups. Thus, to overcome the paucity of information on the relationship of dietary patterns and dietary indexes with obesity and MetS, there is a need for further research using the KNHANES and KoGES data sets.

Recently, there is growing interest in studying the dietary patterns that affect the risk of circulatory system diseases (CSDs). We investigated the relationship between CSDs and dietary patterns through a follow-up study in Korea (2001-2016). The participants of this study were obtained from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES). This study was a large community-based cohort study (the Ansan-Ansung areas) conducted to assess the effects of various factors, especially diet, on the onset of chronic diseases among the Korean population aged 40-69 yrs. Baseline data were collected from 2001 to 2002, and follow-up studies were performed every 2 yrs, with over 7 follow-up studies performed (2015-2016). Three dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis: “vegetable and seafood (men)/soup and stew (women)” pattern, “sweet foods and breads-rice cake” pattern, and “multigrain rice and cooked white rice” pattern. None of the dietary patterns were significantly associated with the risk of CSDs in either men or women. Our follow-up study is meaningful as it investigated whether the dietary patterns of individuals according to sex affects the development of CSDs.