The purpose of this study was to compare nutrient intake, health-related factors, and risk factors for metabolic syndrome and to investigate the prevalence odds ratio according to fruit and vegetable intake among middle-aged Korean men. Subjects included 1,677 men aged 40–64 years. The average intake of fruits and vegetables was 578.48±5.90 g/day. Forty-nine percent of the subjects were categorized into the deficient group based on the intake of fruits and vegetables, and the other subjects were categorized into the adequate group. There was a significant difference in the nutrient density per 1,000 kcal of energy, minerals, vitamins, and dietary fiber between the fruit and vegetable intake groups (p<0.001). In terms of health-related factors, only the current smoking rate in the deficient group (57.9%) was higher than that in the adequate group (45.4%) (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in the risk factors for metabolic syndrome between the fruit and vegetable intake groups. Proportion of serum triglycerides (42.6%) was the highest at a rate that exceeded the criteria for risk factors for metabolic syndrome, but systolic blood pressure (21.7%) showed a very low rate. The fasting blood glucose, serum triglycerides, and diastolic blood pressure were significantly higher in the deficient group than in the adequate group (p<0.05). Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 31.2%. OR for prevalence of metabolic syndrome related to fruit and vegetable intake was 1.270 times higher in the deficient group than in the adequate group (p<0.05). Also, when the daily fruit intake was increased by 100 g, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was reduced by 0.948 times but it was not related to the vegetable intake. The results of this study can be used as the basic data to establish the guidelines for fruit and vegetable intake for prevention of metabolic syndrome in middle-aged men.

This study was conducted to investigate the vegetable eating behaviors and preferences of elementary school students by stage of change for vegetable intake. The subjects consisted of 191 fourth and fifth grade elementary school students from Gyeonggi province. The stage of change for vegetable intake was categorized into three groups: precontemplation (PC, 18.4%), preparation (P, 43.5%), and action/maintenance (A&M, 48.2%). The trend to eat a variety of foods was more distinctive as the students went from the PC to the A&M stage. The stage of change for vegetable intake was closely related with the kimchi-eating pattern of the students. The A&M group ate more vegetables than the PC group because they liked vegetables and/or wanted to prevent disease. The PC group had a lower tendency to follow recommendations for vegetable eating than the P and A&M groups. The PC group also had an incorrect notion that low vegetable consumption over an extended time would not have a big impact on their health. The vegetables of high preference for the elementary school students were potato, sweet potato, lettuce, radish, perilla leaf, cucumber, and cabbage. The vegetables of low preference were spinach, onion, balloon flower, and green pepper. The PC group had lower preferences for most vegetables than the P and A&M groups. Therefore, careful nutrition education is necessary especially for students in the PC group in order to explain the positive effects of vegetable intake and negative effects of an unbalanced diet. It is also necessary to survey students' tastes consistently and to develop recipes that encourage them to consume more vegetables agreeably.