This study investigated the nutrition knowledge, dietary habits, and food intake frequency according to hospitalization after breast cancer surgery and experience of breast cancer among female adults residing in the Bucheon area. Subjects were 52 female breast cancer survivors 27 in the hospitalization group (HG) and 25 in the non-hospitalization group (non-HG)] and 52 controls. Data included the results of self-administered questionnaires, as well as anthropometric data and blood biochemical values of breast cancer survivors collected from electronic medical records. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 20.0 program. Nutrition knowledge and dietary habits revealed no significant differences between HG and non-HG, but intake frequency of root and tuber crops and kimchi was significantly higher in the HG group than the non-HG group (p<0.05). According to experience of breast cancer, total scores of nutrition knowledge among survivors (8.2) were significantly higher than those of the control group (6.3) (p<0.001). Fish and shellfish and fruit intake frequencies were significantly higher in the survivors group, whereas intake frequency of fast food, convenience food, and alcohol was significantly lower compared to the control group. Overall, these findings indicate it is necessary to develop and spread nutrition education guidelines to prevent the occurrence and recurrence of breast cancer.

We recently reported the in vitro and in vivo antiobesity effects of Tenebrio molitor larvae, a traditional food in manycountries, but it remains unknown how the larvae affect appetite regulation in mice with diet-induced obesity. We hypothesizedthat the extract of T. molitor larvae mediates appetite by regulating neuropeptide expression. We investigated T. molitorlarvae extract's (TME's) effects on anorexigenesis and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress–induced orexigenic neuropeptideexpression in the hypothalami of obese mice. Central administration of TME suppressed feeding by down-regulating theexpression of the orexigenic neuropeptides neuropeptide Y and agouti-related protein. T. molitor larvae extract significantlyreduced the expression of ER stress response genes. These results suggest that TME and its bioactive components arepotential therapeutics for obesity and ER stress–driven disease states.

2016년 4월 7일, 식품의약품안전처에서 [제1차 당류 저감 종합계획]을 발표하였다. 발표 내용에 의하면 당류의 과잉 섭취는 국민 건강을 위협하고 과도한 사회비용을 야기할 수 있고, 우리 국민의 가공식품을 통한 당류 섭취량이 증가 하고 있어 선제적 관리가 필요하다고 한다. 우리 국민의 평균 당류 섭취량은 섭취기준 이내이지만 증가 추세이며 일 부 계층(어린이, 청소년, 청년층)의 가공식품을 통한 당류 섭취량은 기준을 초과한다고 밝혔다. 가공식품 중 당류 주요 급원식품은 음료류이며 음료류를 통한 당류 섭취비율은 증가추세에 있다고 한다. 따라서 식품의약품안전처는 ‘우리 국민의 당류 적정 섭취 유도 - 가공식품을 통한 당류 섭취량을 1일 열량의 10% 이내로 관리’를 2020년까지의 목표로 설정하고, 1) 덜 달게 먹는 식습관 유도, 2) 당류 저감식품 선택환경 조성, 3) 당 류 저감정책 추진기반 구축이라는 3대 핵심전략을 바탕으로 세부 과제를 추진하기 시작하였다. 이어서, 한국식품산업협회는 식품의약품안전처의 발표에 대하여 ‘식품산업계는 정부의 당류 저감 정책에 적극 참여 할 것’이라는 제목의 성명서를 발표한 바 있다. 식품산업계는 국민의 요구와 식품업계 수용 역량에 맞게 추진될 수 있 도록 적극 참여하고자 한다고 밝히고, 특히 우리나라 당류 섭취 수준이 다른 국가에 비해 아직 심각하지 않으나, 당류 과잉 섭취와 비만이 문제되고 있는 국제적인 상황에 선제적으로 국가적 노력을 추진코자 하는 정부의 발표에 식품산 업계의 뜻을 같이 하고자 한다고 하였다. 이에, 식품산업계는 다양한 제품 개발에 힘써 소비자들의 선택 폭을 넓히도 록 돕는 한편, 소비자들의 올바른 식생활 형성을 위한 과학적이고 객관적인 정보 전달과 건강한 생활을 지속할 수 있 도록 안전하고 균형잡힌 영양의 식품을 제공하기 위한 노력을 지속하겠다고 성명하였다. 현재, 식품산업협회에서는 음료류 제조업체들이 중심이 되어 ‘음료업계 공통의 당류 저감 계획(안)’을 마련하기 위 하여 활발한 협의가 진행되고 있으며, 논의가 되고 있는 당류 저감 전략은 다음과 같다. 음료업계의 당류 저감 전략은 1) 기존 제품의 당류 함량 저감 (Reformulation), 2) 저당 제품 개발 확대 (Innovation), 3) 소용량 포장 제품 확대 (Smaller Package), 4) 당류 저감 제품의 광고/홍보 증대 (Promotion)로 논의 되고 있다. 기존 제품에 대하여 저감화 우선 순위을 설정하여 순차적으로 당류 저감을 진행하는 한편, 저당 제품 개발의 확대를 위하 여 새로운 고감미료 및 무열량 당류 등의 신소재 원료 식품(첨가물)의 개발에 연구 및 투자를 하고 있다. 또한 기능성 워터 제품, 탄산수 제품, 블랙 커피 제품과 소용량 포장 제품을 확대하여 판매/공급하면서 이러한 당류를 줄인 제품에 대한 광고/홍보비를 증대하는 등의 과제를 계속 시행 및 추가 계획하고 있다. 음료업계는 소비자의 기호에 맞는 제품을 제공하는 것 뿐만 아니라 우리 국민의 균형된 식생활을 돕기 위해 당류의 적정 섭취에 도움이 되는 제품들 개발/판매에 노력을 더 할 것으로 기대한다. 결과적으로, 음료업계를 포함한 식품산업계는 우리 국민이 당류 적정 섭취를 통한 건강한 식생활을 유지할 수 있도 록, 당류를 줄인 제품을 어디서든 쉽게 선택할 수 있도록 하는데 노력하는 것이 바람직할 것이다.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relations between HbA1c level and health risk factor. For analysis, 330 elderly women aged 65 years and over were recruited in Jeonla province, Korea. The subjects were classified into two groups according to their HbA1c level; the diabetic group (HbA1c level≥6.5%, n=68, 20.6%) and control group (HbA1c level< 6.5%, n=262, 79.4%). Demographic characteristics were collected, as well as information on physical measurements, blood tests for biochemical indicators, a health status and health-related life style, dietary behavior, favorite food groups, consumption frequency of food groups and nutrient intake. Educational level of the diabetic group was significantly lower than that of the control group. The height of the diabetic group was shorter, and percentage fat of the diabetic group was higher than those of the control group. In the diabetic group, the higher concentrations of creatinine and activity of alkaline phosphatase were found to be significantly unfavorable factors. Therefore, the diabetic group was assumed to be at risk of decreased liver and renal function. The self-rated health level of the diabetic group has a declining tendency, while the medicine intake was significantly higher than that of the control group, but there are no significant differences in visiting frequency of hospital and community health center. The distribution of physical activity showed a significant difference between the groups. Although there are no significant differences in nutrient intake, the diabetic group had relatively inferior nutrient intake of diet, especially vitamin C, as contrasted with the control group. In conclusion, the weight control and increasing physical activity may be effective in the prevention of the diabetes and continuous education and intervention by specialized nutritionists will be needed for diabetic patients. These results could be useful to plan effective strategies to increase the health-life expectancy and the prevention of the diabetes of Korean elderly people living in rural areas.

In this study, we compared diet related attributes such as food taste preference, food consumption frequency and nutrition intake between elderly residents in their 80’s of areas in Jeollanam-do that are well known for longevity and those of a part of Seoul. Structured in-depth interviews were conducted by trained interviewers on 125 consented subjects (67 Jeonnam and 58 Seoul). Differences of groups were tested using Chi-square tests for nominal or ordinal data and t-tests and ANOVA tests for ratio data. The elderly from Jeonnam tended to sleep longer, express emotion more freely, and interact with others more often than those from Seoul. The elderly tended to prefer sweet or salty tastes, which might be highly related to serious health problems. The most frequently consumed foods were napa cabbage kimchi (2.19 times/day) and multigrain rice (1.99 times/day). Elderly from Jeonnam tended to consume garlic, milk, beans and roasted barley/corn teas less often; whereas, they consumed porridge, dried radish greens, potato, fermented fish, dried fish, pork rib, pork belly, soybean paste soup, soybean paste/Ssamjang, other kimchis, pickled vegetables, snacks, cookies, and green/black teas more often than elderly residents from Seoul. Differences in nutrition intake between the regions were greater than differences between the perceived levels of household economic status. NAR and INQ for folate were lower among elderly from Jeonnam than those from Seoul, while those for protein, vitamin C, niacin, vitamin B6 were higher. The study results indicated that elderly from Jeonnam engaged in a more diverse diet than the elderly from Seoul.

This study was designed to provide the basic data of an effective nutrition education for desirable lifestyle and dietary habits to improve the nutritional status for the elderly by investigating health-related lifestyle, dietary habits, nutritional knowledge, and food intake of the elderly. The subjects included 58 elderly men and 146 elderly women. 35.8% had no more than an elementary school education. Most subjects (54.4%) were widows/widowers. Most subjects (71.0%) made over 150,000 won. 52.5% of subjects lived in houses. Smoking, drinking, exercise, the average sleeping time were significantly difference between the gender (p<0.05). In terms of dietary habits, our results showed that 80.9% of respondent eat regularly meals, including breakfast (83.5%). Both sexes prefer soft and salty food. Women enjoys more spicy and salty food compared with men and then shows meaningful difference (p<0.05). Their favorite meals are soup, stew, salad and boiled vegetables. Compared to women, men have a higher rate of correct answers about questions related to nutrition knowledge as showing significantly difference (p<0.05). In a study of dietary habits, they take in carbohydrates with the highest percentage and following by vegetables and fruits. The amount of meat, first and egg they eat is more than the previously. Eating meat is higher men as showing significant difference (p<0.05). In summary, nutritional status for the elderly shows healthy lifestyle and diet about half of those and most them try to live healthy life in future. It is hope that the elderly may need to learn proper nutrition knowledge for healthy lifestyle and nutrition education and counseling for building up healthy lifestyle and desirable dietary habits. Furthermore, it is necessary to start work to establish a baseline nutritious evaluation for the elderly and at a time to study the development of standard eating tool proven reliability and validity, consequently to provide a basic framework for the evaluation of nutritional status.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate dietary intake according to the risk of coronary heart disease (less than 10% = low-risk group; 10~20% = middle-risk group) based on Framingham risk score (FRS), on 122 male adult subjects. The body weight and body mass index were not significantly different between the groups, while height of the low-risk group was shown to be significantly high compared to that of the middle-risk group. The daily energy intake was shown to be significantly high in the low-risk group with 1,910.88 kcal, compared to 1,606.63 kcal of the middle-risk group. As a result of analyzing nutrient intake per 1,000 kcal of energy, while the low-risk group had significantly high intake of animal protein, fat, and animal fat compared to the middle-risk group, the intake of plant protein, carbohydrate, and plant iron was found to be significantly low. The daily food intake was shown to be significantly high in the low-risk group (1,445.16 g), compared to the middle-risk group (1,075.12 g). The low-risk group was found to have significantly high intake of sugars, eggs, and beverages compared to the middle-risk group, while mushrooms intake was significantly high in the middle-risk group. Dietary variety score (DVS) was significantly high in the low-risk group with 26.42, compared to 22.66 of the middle-risk group. Dietary diversity score (DDS) was indicated to be significantly high in the low-risk group with 3.70, compared to 3.27 of the middle-risk group. The low-risk group was indicated to have significantly high score in DDS of dairy products and fruit group, compared to the middle-risk group. In the correlation between diversity index of food intake (DVS and DDS) and FRS, DDS was shown to have significantly negatively correlation with FRS after adjusting for confounding factors. To sum up these results, the adult males with low-risk of coronary heart disease had more various consumptions of fruits and milk, compared to the subjects with the middle-risk. The proportion of consuming major food groups such as cereals, meat group, milk, fruits, and vegetables more than a fixed quantity was indicated to be high. Accordingly, dietary habit for intake of various food seems to be necessary, to prevent coronary heart disease.

To study the importance of family meals in adolescents, 251 middle school students were surveyed through a questionnaire on their family meal patterns, dietary behaviors, food intake, and life satisfaction. The family meals were defined as "meals with all family members living together" by 62.2% of the students. For the frequency of family meals, 42.2% of the students replied having family meals "More than once a day". A common reason for the difficulty in having a family meal was a "lack of time" (73.3% of the students). Students tended to respond that they would be most fond in having meals with entire family members with traditional Korean food. Having more frequent family meals was found to benefit both individual and familial dietary behavior. In terms of food intake according to the frequency of family meals, the group having frequent family meals consumed significantly more rice, tofu, legumes, meats, fishes, eggs, green vegetables, seaweeds, fruits, milk, and milk products. This indicates that students can achieve a balanced diet through family meals. In terms of emotional status, the group having more frequent family meals showed a higher satisfaction with their daily life, health, nutritional status, and care from their relatives. In terms of personal mental status, the group having more frequent family meals was also found to be more effective at controlling undesirable emotions such as loneliness, indignation, and lethargy. As a result of this study, students in the group having more frequent family meals were found to have a positive dietary behavior, a balanced nutrition, a higher life satisfaction, and a more stable mental status. This result is useful as nutritional and educational information in schools to impress upon the public the importance of family meals for adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to determine differences in perception of weight management, balanced food intake, knowledge of obesity, and nutrition knowledge in university students. The average weight and height of male subjects were 175.0±5.7cm and 69.1±11.8kg, whereas those of female subjects were 161.7±5.0cm and 51.7±6.9kg, respectively. Average scores for balanced food intake were not significantly different between male and female students. The total number of correct answers for obesity knowledge was not significantly different according to gender, but four responses related with losing weight showed higher perception scores in females compared to males (p〈0.05). The total number of correct answers for nutrition knowledge was not significantly different between males and females. The average BMI of male and female subjects were 22.5±3.44 and 19.7±2.21, respectively, ranged in normality. Self-evaluation of body shape was mostly in the normal or standard range in both males and females, but females showed a higher perception rate of chubby or fat than males. The percentages of interest in weight management was 36.0% in males and 50.8% in females, with higher interest in female subjects (p〈0.01).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect and correlation of anthropometric data, eating behaviors, and nutrient intake on the bone mineral density(BMD) of female college students. 349 female college students were surveyed and their age, height, and weight were an average of 20.5 years, 163.2 ㎝ and 54.0 ㎏, respectively. Their average BMI was 20.2, with 66% falling in the normal range, 21.8% classified as underweight, 8.0% as overweight, and obese individuals comprised 3.4% of the sample by BMI classification. Calcaneal BMD was measured and the average T-score was 0.117. The results of BMD measurements were normal in 268 people(76.8%), osteopenia was found in 71 individuals(20.3%), and osteoporosis in 10(2.9%), respectively. There was a significant difference in bone mineral density according to height(p<0.05) and BMI (p<0.01). There were significant differences between BMD and eating behavior, regularity of eating behaviors(p<0.05), instant food intake(p<0.05), eating out(p<0.05) and nutritional supplement intake(p<0.05). In addition, normal the group with normal BMD had a more desirable eating behavior compared to the osteopenia and osteoporosis afflicted groups. BMD had a significant difference according to the nutrient intake of calcium(p<0.05), vitamin A(p<0.05), and vitamin C(p<0.05). In conclusion, BMD showed a good correlation with height(p<0.01), BMI(p<0.01), body composition including total body water(p<0.05), FFM(p<0.05), body protein(p<0.05) and intake of calcium(p<0.05), iron(p<0.05), vitamin A(p<0.05), and vitamin C(p<0.05). Therefore, an education plan and training on balanced diets proper body weight control, and desirable eating behaviors for female college students will be needed.

This study was performed to investigate patterns of fortified food (FF) consumption and intake of vitamins and minerals from FFs among 577 Korean children (12.4 years of age) who attended elementary or middle school. FFs eaten by children as a snack were surveyed using the food record method during 3 days, including 2 week days and one weekend. As a result, 114 FF items were eaten by the children, and several kinds of nutrients such as vitamin A, D, E, B complex, C, calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) were fortified in these foods. Ca-FFs (65.8%) were most frequently consumed, followed by vitamin C-FFs (33.4%) and vitamin D-FFs (33.3%). The number of FF items in each food group was the most in the milk group (n=24, 21.0%), followed by the beverage group (n=19, 16.7%), and the cookie/bread/cake group (n=17, 14.9%). Fortified nutrients in FFs were in various combinations, but the major combination patterns were Ca, Ca plus vitamins, Ca plus vitamins plus other minerals, and Ca plus other minerals. Daily mean intakes of vitamins and minerals from the FFs were 66-300% more than those of the recommended nutrient intake (RNI ) or adequate intake (AI) for most vitamins and minerals. Daily maximum intakes (95th percentile) of vitamins and minerals from FFs were 1-15 times the RNI or AI for most vitamins and minerals. Vitamin and mineral consumption ratios from each FF group were different according to the kind of fortified nutrient. For example, vitamin C was mostly eaten in fortified beverages (46-54%), and Fe was mostly eaten in fortified cookie/breads/cakes (87%). The above results show that FF consumption varied widely among the children, and that most of the children's foods were fortified with several vitamins and minerals without a common rule; thus, subjects risked over consuming vitamins and minerals by eating FFs. Therefore, practical guideline on FF use for children's optimal nutrition and health should be provided through nutrition education.

본 연구에서는 국민건강영양조사 1998년(제1기)부터 2008년(제4기 2차) 조사까지 총 5기의 식품섭취조사 자료를 이용하여, ‘들깻잎, 생것’, ‘들깻잎, 데친것’, ‘들깻잎, 찐것’, ‘들깻잎, 통조림’의 섭취자 및 섭취량에 대한 분석을 시행하였다. 특히, 국민건강영양조사의 식품 섭취량 자료로부터 합리적이고 객관적으로 들깻잎 섭취자의 수 및 섭취량을 산출할 수 있는 방법을 개발하였다. 들깻잎의 섭취량에 대한 분석은 국민건강영양조사의 전체 응답자의 평균 섭취량(응답자 평균 섭취량), 들깻잎 섭취자의 평균 섭취량(섭취자 평균 섭취량), 상위 5%의 극단 섭취자의 평균 섭취량(극단 섭취량), 남성 및 여성의 평균 섭취량, 20세 미만과 20세 이상의 평균 섭취량의 5가지의 항목으로 구분하여 분석되었다. 들깻잎 섭취자의 수 및 섭취량을 분석한 결과 들깻잎 섭취자의 수는 조사연도별로 균일한 분포를 나타내었으며, 1일 7-10명 중 1명이 들깻잎을 섭취한다는 결과를 도출하였다. 남성과 여성의 섭취자 비율은 여성이 남성에 비해 평균 1.22배 더 많았다. 응답자 평균 섭취량은 2.20 g이었으며, 섭취자의 평균 섭취량은 2005년에서 가장 높았고(21.40 g), 1998년과 2008년에 비하여 0.24 g 정도 증가하였다. 대부분의 조사연도에서 남성의 섭취량이 여성에 비해 높았고, 20세 미만의 섭취량은 전체적으로 20세 이상 섭취량보다 낮았다. 극단 섭취량 1998년에서 2005년까지의 섭취량이 평균 78.02 g으로 높았지만, 2007년과 2008년에는 평균 55.58 g로 낮아졌다. 들깻잎 섭취형태를 분석한 결과 ‘들깻잎, 생것’, ‘들깻잎, 통조림’, ‘들깻잎, 데친것’, ‘들깻잎, 찐것’ 순으로 응답자 수 및 섭취량 순위가 결정되었다. 그 중 ‘들깻잎, 데친것’, ‘들깻잎, 찐것’의 데이터가 충분치 않아 결과가 좋지 않게 나왔다. 또한 국민건강영양조사 식품 섭취량 데이터는 2007년부터 상시 조사를 시작하였으며, 그 이전에는 시행된 연도에 따라 조사 기간 및 계절이 1998년과 2001년에는 11-12월, 2005년에는 4-6월로 일관되지 않았기 때문에 연간 일일 섭취량을 판단하는 데 한계가 있을 것이라 생각된다. 본 연구의 결과를 확대하면 들깻잎 이외의 다른 농산물, 축산물, 수산물 및 이들의 가공품에도 적용할 수 있다. 이러한 식품의 섭취량에 대한 객관적인 정보는 농축수산물 및 가공식품을 통해 의도 또는 비의도적으로 섭취하는 화학 잔류물질의 위해성 평가를 위한 좋은 기초 자료가 될 것이다.

This study was conducted in order to investigate and compare anthropometric measurements, bone density, nutrient intake, blood composition and food habits between non-smoking, non-alcohol drinking and smoking, alcohol drinking male university students in Seoul, South Korea. The data for food habits and health-related behaviors were obtained by selfadministered questionnaires. The BQIs of the subjects were measured by Quantitative Ultrasound (QUS). The subjects were divided into two groups: NSND (non-smoking and non-alcohol drinking, n=62) group and General (smoking and alcohol drinking, n=160) group. The results were analyzed using the SPSS program and were as follows: The average heights, weights, and BMIs of the two groups were 173.3 cm, 66.5 kg and 22.1 and 173.4 cm, 68.7 kg and 22.9, respectively. There were no differences between the groups regarding height, weight or BMI. SBP and DBP, however, were significantly higher in the general group than in the NSND group (p〈0.01). The BQIs, Z-scores and T-scores of the two groups were 99.83, -0.23, and -0.31 and 98.24, -0.27 and -0.39, respectively, producing no significant differences between the two groups. The percentages for normal bone status, osteopenia and osteoporosis were 83.88%, 16.12% and 0.0% and 74.37%, 25.62% and 0.01%, respectively. Mean intakes of animal protein (p〈0.05), animal fat (p〈0.05), fiber (p〈0.05), animal Ca(p〈0.05), animal Fe (p〈0.001), Zn(p〈0.05), vitamin B1 (p〈0.05) and niacin (p〈0.05) were significantly different between the two groups, and mean serum levels of SGOT (p〈0.01), SGPT (p〈0.001), γ-GTP (p〈0.001), triglycerides (p〈0.01), total cholesterol (p〈0.05) and hematocrit (p〈0.05) were also significantly different between the two groups. Overall, there were no differences in meal regularity, frequency of snacking, reasons for overeating, exercise and defecation between the groups. However, favorite foods (p〈0.05) and night-time meals (p〈0.05) were significantly different. In conclusion, the health status of the NSND group was superior compared to the general group. Thus, students who smoke and alcohol drink should receive a practical and systematically-organized education regarding the increased health benefits of quitting smoking and alcohol drinking.

This study was conducted to evaluate the food habits and nutrient intake of preschool children by investigating their food and snack consumption. To accomplish this, a food habit questionnaire and dietary intake survey was administered to 148 children between 2 and 6 years of age (average 4.8 years). According to the Kaup index, the underweight, normal, overweight and obesity levels of the subjects were 4.7, 60.1, 26.4, and 8.8%, respectively. In addition, the total energy intake met the EAR (1433.94±369.70kcal), whereas the protein, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B and vitamin C levels exceeded the EAR and the RI. Furthermore, the nutrient intake profile revealed that the mean caloric value of breakfasts consumed by preschool children in Daegu (403 kcal) was significantly (p〈0.001) higher than that of preschool children in the Gyeongbuk area (271 kcal). Additionally, preschool children in Daegu (382.96±255.79kcal) usually consumed significantly (p〈0.01) less food than those in the Gyeongbuk area (413.82±275.43kcal). The preferred snacks among subjects (in descending order) were milk, bread, fruit, potato or sweet potato and cookies. The mean score of the Food Habit was 3.72±0.35 out of 5, although the score of preschool children in Daegu (3.77±0.32) was significantly (p〈0.05) higher than that of children in the Gyeongbuk area (3.65±0.32). Taken together, these results indicate that there were significant differences in the Food Habit and nutrient intake level of children in Daegu and the Gyeongbuk area. Therefore, parents and caregivers should be aware of the importance of the nutritional status of preschool children and choose healthy snacks for them.

The consumption of a wide variety of food groups is considered one of the key components of nutritional adequacy. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Koreans includes the consumption of a variety of foods from diverse food groups as a component of a normal diet. A survey was conducted to evaluate the relationship between the dietary diversity of food groups and nutrient intake in elderly patients (age 65 and above) at a rural area in Korea (Inje). 296 subjects (111 male and 185 female) were probed in a 3 day 24-recall dietary survey. Subjects were grouped according to food group intake frequency, based on six food groups (grain, meat/fish/legume/egg, vegetable, fat/oil, dairy, fruit). Nutritional quality was evaluated according to the numbers of nutrients under EAR (Estimated Average Requirements), and MAR (mean adequacy ratios). The frequency of elderly subjects consuming a meat/fish/legumes/egg food group less than once per day was 29.4%. The frequency of elderly subjects consuming fat/oil food group less than once per day was 65.8%. The percentage of subjects who did not eat dairy food was 88.8%, and that of subjects who did not eat fruit was 57.5%. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to develop models relating nutritional quality to possible food group intake frequency factors. Using the number of nutrients under EAR as a dependent variable, the meat/fish/legume/egg food group intake frequency explained 9.9% of variance, followed by the grain group, fat/oil group, dairy group, and vegetable and fruit group (Model R2=0.260). For mean nutrient adequacy ratio as a dependent variable, the model R2 was 0.326. The results of this study suggest that a highly varied diet in elderly might be associated with better nutritional quality, as assessed by nutrient intake. Accordingly, dietary guidelines should take into consideration nutritional characteristics in order to improve intake from all major food groups and to provide a variety of foods in the diet.