This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the nutrition quotient and the dietary intake of adolescents. A total of 393 adolescents were surveyed to evaluate their Nutrition Quotient for Korean Adolescents (NQ-A) scores and dietary intake. The average age of the survey subjects was 15 years and the average NQ-A score of the subjects was 49.11±13.35. There was no significant difference in the NQ-A scores according to gender and age. The average dietary diversity score was 3.77±0.85, and it was significantly higher in boys than in girls (p< .05) with the scores of 12-14-year-old students being significantly higher than those aged 15-18 years (p< .01). The results of comparing the percentage of recommended intake or adequate intake and the mean adequacy ratio (MAR) according to the NQ-A grade, showed that the ‘High’ grade had a significantly higher intake percentage of vitamin B1, B12, folate, phosphorus, iron and a significantly higher MAR (p< .05). From a long-term perspective, efforts to improve dietary habits are deemed necessary to meet an individual’s nutritional requirements. Adolescents themselves should develop proper eating behaviors and acquire suitable dietary management skills to enhance their nutritional status, ultimately contributing to an improvement in their quality of life.

Considering that the number of middle-aged single-person households is increasing, this study investigates dietary behaviors, nutrient intake, and mental health according to household type. Data were procured from the 2015-2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Totally, 5,466 participants aged 50-64 years were classified into 2 groups: a household with one member was defined as a single-person household, and households with two or more members were described as multi-person households. Single-person households comprised 10.63% of the total, with a higher average age, and lower income and economic levels than multi-person households. Compared to multiperson households, single-person households had a higher frequency of skipping breakfast, eating alone, and dining out, the moderately and severely food insecure group was more than 5 times, and nutrient intake and dietary quality were poorer. In the fully adjusted model, the odds ratios (ORs) of depressive symptoms were 2.35 times (95% CI: 1.39-3.96), and suicide ideation was 1.95 times (95% CI: 1.35-2.82) in single-person compared to multi-person households. Our results lead us to conclude that poor dietary intake in middle-aged single-person households affects the mental health, and the above factors should be considered when framing the dietary policy.

The labor environment in Korea has changed and problems related to employment types are treated as important issues. Especially, the ratio of irregular workers has not only increased relatively, but the labor conditions in Korea also have worsened in the current years. Studies have reported an association between temporary workers and the prevalence of diseases. However, there is insufficient research on chronic disease and employment types. Methods: The current study examines the prevalence rate of diseases and health behavior by categorizing employment types among Korean adults. Data were obtained from the 2016-2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Totally, the data of 2,366 workers (1,239 regular and 1,127 irregular) were analyzed in the study. The types of employment were classified by a questionnaire querying about working conditions. The results showed that irregular workers earned less than regular workers and had a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension. We propose that if discrimination related to working conditions were relieved, irregular workers would be able to invest more time to exercise and doing check-ups regularly. In addition, individual nutrition consultations considering the knowledge and personal environmental factors of each individual are necessary for the improved health of all workers.

This study investigated the association between dietary intake and 10-year risk for CHD predicted from Framingham risk score in Korean adults using the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2019-2020. Eight thousand subjects (3,382 men and 4,618 women) aged 30 years or older were classified into three groups according to the 10-year CHD risk (%). The sociodemographics, anthropometrics indices, blood profiles, and dietary intake were collected. After adjusting for confounding variables, the mean adequacy ratio (MAR) decreased for both men and women as the disease risk increased. The high–risk group was below the MAR criteria, indicating that the overall quality of the meal was not good. The highest consumers of legumes (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.37-0.84), fruits (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.48-0.93), and fish (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.42-0.87) had a 44%, 33%, and 40% lower 10-year CHD risk than lowest consumers in men, respectively. In women, there is no significant relationship between food groups and disease risk. Therefore, improving lifestyle habits such as weight control, increased activity, and adequate food intake, especially legumes, fruits, and fish rich in antioxidant nutrients and bioactive substances, appears to have a potential association with preventing coronary heart disease in Korean adults.

목적 : 본 연구는 소아·청소년의 나트륨 섭취와 굴절 이상 사이의 연관성을 조사하였다. 방법 : 본 연구에서는 2016년 국민건강영양조사에 5~18세 소아·청소년 968명의 데이터를 사용하였다. 나트 륨 섭취량은 24시간 식단 회상에서 식품 항목에 대한 데이터로 측정하였다. 굴절 이상은 우안의 등가구면 굴절력 (SE)을 사용하였다. 잠재적인 교란 요인을 조정한 후 로지스틱 회귀 분석을 사용하여 나트륨 섭취와 굴절 이상 간 의 연관성을 분석하였다. 결과 : 나트륨 섭취량과 굴절 이상은 상관관계가 있었고(p<0.001), 나트륨 섭취가 높을수록 굴절 이상도 함께 높은 것으로 나타났다(p<0.001). 특히 나트륨 섭취량은 근시에서 유의하게 높았다. 잠재적인 교란 요인을 보정한 후 다변량 로지스틱 회귀 분석에서 높은 나트륨 섭취가 근시 위험 증가와 유의하게 관련이 있는 것으로 나타났다 (OR 1.62; 95% CI 1.12-2.33, p=0.010). 결론 : 국내 소아·청소년의 나트륨 섭취와 굴절 이상 사이에 유의한 연관성이 있는 것으로 나타났다. 또한, 높 은 나트륨 섭취량은 근시와 관련이 있는 것으로 나타났다.

Unhealthy dietary behavior such as insufficient calcium intake can be one of risk factors of osteoporosis and chronic diseases in older people. This study evaluated the recent trends in dietary calcium intake and the food source in Korean adults aged 50 years or older using the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, 2015-2019) data. This study used 24-hour recall survey data to investigate the calcium intake, the major food groups and main dishes contributing to the calcium intake. The mean calcium intake was 479.55-506.81 mg/day. The major food groups that contribute to calcium intake were vegetables, milks and fishes. Dairy and frozen desserts and kimchi were the major dish groups that contributed to the calcium intake. Calcium intake from milk in dairy and frozen dessert group has been high in last 5 years (50-64 years old: 34.71-47.68 mg, 65-74 years old: 29.72-43.65 mg, over 75 years old: 22.91-42.93 mg). In addition, baechu-kimchi is the most contributed to the calcium intake in kimchi group (50-64 years old: 35.10-41.47 mg, 65-74 years old: 29.62-34.96 mg, over 75 years old: 23.79-29.13 mg). In conclusion, various source of calcium needs to be recommended to increase intake calcium in over 50 years, which may reduce chronic diseases and improve quality of life.

This study examined the nutrient intake of Korean adults by considering the lunch type, categorized as home meals (HM), eating out (EO), and institutional meals (IM). Data was obtained from the 2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Totally, 3,786 adults (1,643 men, and 2,143 women) aged between 19-64 years were included in the study. Subjects with daily energy intake of less than 500 kcal or over 5,000 kcal, and those who skipped lunch, were excluded. The percentage of subjects in the HM, EO, and IM were 31.9, 53.6, and 14.4%, respectively. The daily energy intakes of the HM, EO, and IM groups were determined to be 2,185, 2,360, and 2,339 kcal, respectively, in men, and 1,622, 1,731, and 1,741 kcal, respectively, in women. Among the three groups, men in the EO group had more intake of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, and riboflavin, and less dietary fiber, and whereas women consumed more fat and less dietary fiber and potassium. In the IM group, the men consumed more dietary fiber, potassium, and thiamine, whereas consumption of carbohydrate, unsaturated fatty acid, sodium, potassium, and thiamine was more in women. Energy contributions of carbohydrate, protein, and fat were all within the AMDR (acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges) for all lunch types, except for the percent of energy provided from saturated fat in EO (7.4% in men, and 8.2% in women). Our results indicate that the dietary habit of frequently eating out increases the fat intake, thereby resulting in increased health risks for adults. Thus, implementation of a nutritional education program to encourage balanced dietary habits is required to improve the nutritional status of individuals eating out.

The intake of processed foods containing high levels of sugar increases the incidence of chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Limiting sugar intake is important for a healthy life at all ages. Therefore, this study analyzed food sources and sugar intake by the different age groups based on the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). We used 24-hour recall survey data to investigate the daily sugar intake and the major food groups and main dishes contributing to sugar intake. The mean sugar intake was 58.9-66.8 g/day. The three major food groups contributing to sugar intake were fruits (15.2-19.9 g/day), beverages (10.7-12.4 g/day), and milk and milk products (7.6-7.8 g/day). Teas and other non-alcoholic beverages (14.7-17.3 g/day), fruits (12.5-16.2 g/day), and dairy products (7.0-7.6 g/day) were the major food groups that contributed to the sugar intake. Carbonated drinks, apples, and milk were the top sources of sugar intake in each group. In conclusion, the sugar intake of Koreans is mainly from carbonated drinks, fruits, and milk. These results provided the basic data for nutrition education and nutrition program development according to the different age groups of the Korean population.

Although fine dust pollution in Korea is increasing, there is no information regarding nutritional standards for fine dustrelated disease patients. This study analyzed the food and nutrient intake status in adult men with disease associated with fine dust in the area with the increased level of fine dust pollution using the sixth and seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013-2017). The daily intakes, and average nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR) and mean adequacy ratio (MAR) values of energy were significantly increased in the control group compared with patient groups. Compared with the control group, protein, fat and cholesterol intakes were significantly increased in the patient groups. Daily intakes of cereals and grain products in the control group were increased, whereas seasoning intake was decreased in the control group compared with patient groups. The patient groups had low daily water and vitamin B1 intakes, and the niacin intake of patient groups was significantly lower than that of the control group. Nutrition density and nutritional quality of vitamin C were significantly reduced in patient groups. This study can be used as basic data for nutrition education that emphasizes sufficient calorie, water and antioxidant vitamin intakes for patients related to fine dust pollution.

This study was conducted to investigate the intake status of beverages and water in Korean adults using data from the 8th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The ‘total water’ intake was 2,250.6 g for men and 1,871.2 g for women. Men and women consumed an average of 314.9 g of ‘total beverages’, of which ‘coffee’ was the largest at 107.5 g, followed by ‘others’(65.4 g), ‘milk’ (44.8 g), ‘soda’ (44.1 g), ‘teas’ (20.9 g), and ‘fruits and vegetables’ (18.5 g). The intake of ’plain water’ was 1,059.9 g, and the intake of ’water from food’ consumed was 547.3 g. The ‘total water’ intake decreased with increasing age in males and females (p<0.001). Both men and women showed a tendency toward increased ‘total water’ intake as income levels increased. ‘Plain water’ intake accounted for 51.4% of the ‘total water’ intake in males and females. The intake of all nutrients significantly increased from the Q1 group to the Q4 group by quartile ranges of total water intake. The results of this study showed that the intake of healthy water should be considered, and care and educational programs are needed, especially for older people, to ensure adequate water intake.

There is little information on the nutrient intake according to the city size and small town in Korean elderly. This study analyzed the nutritional consumption of older people in metropolitan, middle and small cities, and rural areas according to four income levels. The recent data from the 2016~2018 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were used. The final analysis included 4,325 individuals (Male: 1,856, Female: 2,469) over 65 years old. Multivariable regression with a complex sample design was conducted to compare the nutrient intake among the groups. In a comparison within regions, the nutrition status of the elderly in small towns was more vulnerable than metropolitan and middle & small cities. The energy intakes were similar between the groups. The carbohydrate intake of middle & small cities was significantly higher than the other regions. The intake of other nutrients in metropolitan and middle & small cities appeared to be higher than in rural areas. The number of nutrients with statistical significance between low and high-income levels were 19 in metropolitan, 11 in middle & small cities, and 5 in rural areas. Each contribution of carbohydrate, fat, and protein to the total energy intake was lower in the low-income level than the high-income level in metropolitan and middle & small cities. On the other hand, in rural areas, only the contribution of protein to energy intake was lower in the low-income level than the high-income level. Cities with higher levels of urbanization had more severe nutritional inequality in relation to the income level. There was also nutritional inequality present in rural areas but it was to a lesser extent. Moreover, the generally low level of nutrient intake was problematic in rural areas. These findings could be used as fundamental evidence for developing community nutritional policies for the elderly.

This study assessed yearly trends of food and nutrient intake among high school students aged 16 to 18 years (n=2,377) using the 2007~2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Yearly trends of food or nutrient intake were analyzed via logistic regression analysis. The results showed that consumption of sugars & sweets, and beverages & alcohols was increased rapidly during this period (p<0.0001). Intake of meat & meat products, and fish & shellfish also was increased (p=0.0008). Intake of grains and grain products was increased until year 2011 but declined after 2012 (p=0.0025). Consumption of vegetables, and milk & milk products was decreased (p=0.0395). Intake of protein, fat, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron was increased (p=0.0445). Carbohydrate energy ratio was decreased, whereas fat energy ratio was increased (p=0.0235). Most nutrient intakes satisfied the dietary reference intakes for Koreans except dietary fiber (19.6~26.2%), calcium (46.9~55.2%) and sodium (more than 221.4%) during this period. There was a significant positive correlation between most food group intakes and most nutrient intakes (p=0.0468). Therefore, it is crucial to increase dietary fiber and calcium intake and decrease consumption of sugars, fats and sodium through diverse eating of food groups to ensure balanced nutrition of subjects.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of chronic diseases according to obesity in the elderly older than age 65 using data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016~2018). The subjects of the survey were 3,245 elderly older than age 65 who participated in the health survey and nutrition survey, 45.8% of the subjects were males and 54.2% of the subjects were female. 37.5% of all the elderly were obese, and the females (42.4%) were more obese than the males (31.8%) (p<0.001). Diabetes, hypertension, and hypertriglyceridemia had a similar prevalence of 24.6%, 63.0%, and 12.7% in males and females, respectively. Hypercholesterolemia was higher in the elderly females (44.2%) than in the elderly males (24.9%) (p<0.001). Through the logistic regression analysis, it was found that the prevalence of chronic diseases was higher in obesity than normal in elderly males and females (p<0.001). The total food intake increased from ‘under weight’ to ‘obesity’ in males (p<0.01) and females (p<0.001). In the case of the elderly males, the higher the degree of obesity, the higher the energy intake (p<0.05), and ‘pre-obesity’ consumed the most energy in elderly females. As a result of this study, the higher the obesity rate of the elderly, the higher the prevalence of chronic diseases.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the comparison of nutrient intake and metabolic syndrome between single person households and non-single person households in elderly subjects. We analyzed data from 2,903 subjects ≥ age 65 who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2013~2015. As a result, single-person households had lower income and economic ability, overall nutrient intake was deteriorated, and the proportion of high-carbohydrate intake was high, compared to non-single person households. After adjusting for potential confounders (sex, age, education, household income, economic activity, smoking status, alcohol consumption, walking frequency, health status, depression status, and dietary factors), the singleperson household showed a tendency of 1.22-fold higher ORs of metabolic syndrome and 1.3-fold higher ORs of hypertriglyceridemia than the non-single-person household. We suggest that the single-person household may be associated with increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome and hypertriglyceridemia in the elderly subjects.

In this study, the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2016 examined the nutrient and food intake of women in their 20s and 30s according to the number of meals a day, and the results were as follows: The study included 256 women in their 20s and 474 women in their 30s. Women in their 20s and 30s ate two meals a day, indicating that the notion of three meals a day was gradually changing to two to three meals a day. Those in their 20s and 30s who eat one, two or three meals a day were consuming less than the estimated energy requirement of the DRI for Koreans 2015. The vitamin A and C were eating less than the recommended intake in all meals. In the case of minerals, calcium was taken less than the recommended intake in all meals, but sodium was taken above the goal intake in all groups. Women in their 20s and 30s must reduce their intake of saturated fatty acids and sodium, and increase their intake of vitamins A, C, calcium, and potassium. Women in their 20s and 30s drank a lot of coffee, ate baechu-kimchi and rice frequently per week.

The purpose of this study was to analyze a cohort, age, and time effects on sodium and sodium-calorie intake using the 2007~2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). For analysis, we have constructed cohort panel data that combine KNHANES data in a time series. The age effect gradually increased from age 45~49 and then decreased afterwards. The time effect showed an increase in average sodium intake until 2010 followed by a subsequent decrease. The cohort effect showed that the sodium intake was the highest for the War of Liberation 1946~1953, and that the younger the latter, the lower the sodium intake. According to a cohort analysis, the younger the generation, the lower the sodium intake compared to the calorie intake, according to the baby boomers. Based on the results of this study, efforts should be made to educate and promote the dieting and providing low-salt meals to reduce sodium intake by generation. An analysis of the health hazards including sodium by generation and age is thought to enable the establishment relevant policies.

This study examined the difference of dietary intake behavior between groups of adults aged >20 years with or without dyslipidemia, and comparing the various types of dyslipidemia, based on the Seventh (2016) KNHANES. Men showed higher rate for triglyceridemia and LDL-cholesterolemia than women and subjects in the age group 50-59 years exhibited the highest incidence of triglyceridemia, total cholesterolemia and HDL-cholesterolemia. The ratio of obese people was higher in most types of dyslipidemias. The top five foods in each group of cereal & grain, meat, vegetable, and fruit were selected for analysis, based on the food frequency. The dyslipidemia group showed higher intake frequencies for mixed grains, cabbage kimchi and leafy vegetable than the no-dyslipidemia group, and the group with high blood total cholesterol for mixed grains, apple, and cutlassfish-croaker. Group with high blood triglyceride showed higher intake frequencies of rice and mackerel-mackerel pike than the other groups of high blood triglyceride. No food showed significant difference in the frequencies between groups of LDL-cholesterol. Group with high blood HDL-cholesterol showed higher intake frequency of bibim-fried rice, deep fried chicken, stir fried chicken, apple, tangerine, banana and butter-margarine. These results indicate that people with high levels of blood total cholesterol are more concerned with food having health benefits than those with abnormal levels of other blood lipid. More information on dietary benefits need to be provided to patients having high levels of triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol.

This study aim to evaluate dietary quality and nutritional status according to the consumption of health functional food using Nutrition Quotient for Korean elderly (NQ-E) for 288 elderly people attending senior welfare centers in Gyeonggi-do. The questionnaire consisted of items about general information, health functional food, and Nutrition Quotient for Korean elderly (NQ-E). Chi-squared test, Fisher's exact tests, and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were performed using the SAS program ver. 9.4. Among the male and female subjects, the female subjects consumed more health functional food. The results of the dietary quality and nutritional status difference according to the intake of health functional food showed significant differences only in the areas of variety and abstinence among nutrition quotient factors for men, while no significant differences were observed in any of the nutrition quotient factors for women. In conclusion, focused-nutrition education program and useful guideline is needed for promoting adequate consumption of health functional foods in elderly.

The purpose of this study was to examine the association nutrition education experience in regards to metabolic risk and nutrition intake in Korean adult male using the 2016~2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey as the reference. The study involved a total of 1,978 male subjects aged 40~64 who were classified into the 2 groups based on their nutrition education experience: Educated group (n=88) and non-educated group (n=1,890). The household income and education level of educated group were higher than those of the non-educated group. The two groups showed no significant difference in the level of fasting blood sugar, blood lipid profile including total cholesterol and triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol, and hypertension. Vitamin C intake of the educated group (127.5 mg) was higher compared to the non-educated group (88.2 mg) (p<0.05). The percentage of the subjects utilizing nutritional labels was higher in the educated group. The nutrition education experience was inversely proportional to lower Odds Ratio in hyperLDL-cholesterolemia (OR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.36, 0.84) and HypoHDL-cholesterolemia (OR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.37, 0.87). This result indicates that nutritional education can be used as an effective tool to avert chronic diseases and develop healthy eating habits.

The objective of this study was to compare nutrients intake, health indices, and prevalence of chronic diseases by occupation in middle-aged men, using results from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The subjects were divided into two groups by their occupation (Office worker (OW) and Agri-fishery worker (AFW)) and their percentages were 75.5% and 24.5% respectively. In health-related factors, drinking rate was higher in OW (p<0.001), while smoking rate was higher in AFW (p<0.001). Walking and strength exercise were both higher in OW group. In dietary behavior, the rate of skipping breakfast and eating out was higher in OW (p<0.001). Food supplement usage were consumed by OW more than AFW (p<0.001). Daily energy intake was higher in AFW (p<0.05). There were significant differences in nutrient density per 1,000 kcal of minerals and vitamins between the two groups (p<0.05~p<0.001), except calcium, potassium, vitamin A and thiamin. In body weight, BMI, waist circumference and blood pressures, OW was higher than AFW (p<0.05~p<0.001). Whereas, HDL and LDL-cholesterol were higher in AFW (p<0.001). The prevalence of diabetes was higher in AFW (p<0.001). The results of this study can be used as data to establish nutrition and health strategies for occupation in middle-aged men.