Journal List > J Nutr Health > v.52(5) > 1136450

Ha and Kim: The food and nutrient intakes from daily processed food in Korean adults: based on the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (2013 ~ 2015)

Abstract

Purpose

The consumption of processed foods has recently been increasing due to changes in the living environment. The purpose of this study was to identify the contribution of processed food to the nutrient intake of adult Koreans.

Methods

A total of 15,760 adult people in the 6th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013 ~ 2015) were included in this study. According to the Korea Food and Drug Administration's classification criteria for processed foods, the 24 hour dietary recall data of the subjects were classified as processed food or natural food. The processed food intake, nutrient intake and major processed food sources by food groups were analyzed.

Results

Men consumed more processed foods than did the women. Consumption of processed foods decreased with age, but it increased with the education level and the income level. The total daily processed food intake accounted for 68.1% of the total food intake. The food groups with high processed food intake were beverage, vegetables, cereals and grain products, fruits, and milk and dairy products in this order. The top food source of each food groups were beer, kimchi, bread, processed apple products, and milk. After adjusting for age, gender, and energy intake, all the nutrient intakes and percentage of dietary reference intakes for Koreans, except carbohydrates, were significantly higher in processed foods than in natural foods. The sodium intake from the processed food was 96.3% of total daily sodium intake. The intakes of nutrients from processed foods, excluding vitamins C, dietary fiber, iron, and vitamin A, were higher in men than in women. The intake of sodium from processed foods was highest for people of 30 ~ 49 years of age, and the intake of sodium from processed foods decreased for people over 50.

Conclusion

Korean adults consumed more processed food than the natural food, consuming more calories and most of the nutrients from the processed food overall total daily intakes. The intake of processed foods is expected to further increase in the future, and nutritional education and research on the ingestion and selection of healthy processed foods are necessary.

Figures and Tables

Table 1

The general characteristics and mean processed food intake in subjects

jnh-52-422-i001

All analysis accounted for the complex sampling design and appropriate sampling weights of the national survey.

1) * p < 0.05; *** p < 0.001; ns, no statistical significance, by chi-square test

2) Mean ± standard error

3) * p < 0.05; *** p < 0.001 by proc survey multiple regression after adjusting age (or sex), and energy intake

4) abc: Different superscript letter indicates the comparison with significant differences among groups as determined by Bonferrori test (p < 0.05) after adjusting for either age (or sex), and energy intake.

Table 2

Food intake from natural and processed food by food group

jnh-52-422-i002

All analysis accounted for the complex sampling design and appropriate sampling weights of the national survey.

1) Mean ± standard error

2) * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; ns, no statistical significance, after adjusting for for either age (or sex), and energy intake

3) % = Food intake of natural food (g) or food intake of processed food (g)/ total food intake (g) × 100

Table 3

The daily intakes of processed food by food group according to gender and ages

jnh-52-422-i003

All analysis accounted for the complex sampling design and appropriate sampling weights of the national survey.

1) Mean ± standard error, rounded to one decimal digit

2) * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; ns, no statistical significance, after adjusting for either age (or sex) and energy intake

3) Different superscript letter indicates the comparison with significant differences among groups as determined by Bonferrori test (p < 0.05) after adjusting for either age (or sex), and energy intake.

Table 4

Ranking of mostly consumed processed food items in major food groups

jnh-52-422-i004

All analysis accounted for the complex sampling design and appropriate sampling weights of the national survey.

1) Mean ± standard error

Table 5

Nutrient intakes and percentage of KDRIs from natural and processed food in all subjects

jnh-52-422-i005

All analysis accounted for the complex sampling design and appropriate sampling weights of the national survey.

1) Mean ± standard error, rounded to one decimal digit

2) * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; ns, no statistical significance, after adjusting for either age (or sex) and energy intake

3) % = nutrient intake of natural food (g) or nutrient intake of processed food (g)/ total nutrient intake (g) × 100

4) Dietary reference intakes for Korean (KDRIs): energy, Estimated energy requirement (EER); protein, Ca, P, Fe, vitamin A thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin C, Recommended Nutrient Intake (RDA); sodium, Adequate Intake (AI); -, In case of carbohydrate and fat, no dietary reference intakes for Korean (KDRIs) exist

Table 6

Nutrient intakes and percentage of KDRIs from processed food according to gender

jnh-52-422-i006

All analysis accounted for the complex sampling design and appropriate sampling weights of the national survey.

1) Mean ± standard error. rounded to one decimal digit

2) % = processed food intake (g)/ total nutrient intake (g) × 100

3) * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; ns, no statistical significance, after adjusting for either age (or sex) and energy intake

4) Dietary reference intakes for Korean (KDRIs): energy, Estimated energy requirement (EER); protein, Ca, P, Fe, vitamin A thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin C, Recommended Nutrient Intake (RDA); sodium, Adequate Intake (AI); -, In case of carbohydrate and fat, no dietary reference intakes for Korean (KDRIs) exist

Table 7

Nutrient intakes and percentage of KDRIs from processed food according to ages

jnh-52-422-i007

All analysis accounted for the complex sampling design and appropriate sampling weights of the national survey.

1) Mean intake (g) ± standard error. rounded to one decimal digit

2) % = processed food intake (g)/ total nutrient intake (g) × 100

3) * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; ns, no statistical significance, after adjusting for either age (or sex) and energy intake

4) Different superscript letter indicates the comparison with significant differences among groups as determined by Bonferrori test (p < 0.05) after adjusting for either age (or sex) and energy intake.

5) Dietary reference intakes for Korean (KDRIs): energy, Estimated energy requirement (EER); protein, Ca, P, Fe, vitamin A thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin c, Recommended Nutrient Intake (RDA); sodium, Adequate Intake (AI); -, In case of carbohydrate and fat, no dietary reference intakes for Korean (KDRIs) exist

Notes

This work was supported by 2017 research grant of YoulChon Organization.

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ORCID iDs

Ae Wha Ha
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9342-5483

Woo Kyoung Kim
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8652-5339

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