Association between Nutrition Label Reading and Nutrient Intake in Korean Adults: Korea National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey, 2007-2009 (KNHANES IV)

Abstract

BackgroundNutrition labels provide various information on the nutrient contents of food. However, despite the recent increase in the interest in dietary intake and expansion of related policies, studies on the association between nutrition label reading and dietary intake are lacking in Korea.MethodsThis study analyzed the 2007-2009 KNHANES (Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) data. To examine macronutrients and micronutrients intake according to nutrition label reading, analysis of covariance was used. Multiple logistic regression analysis was also used to examine the association between adherence to dietary reference intake and nutrition label reading.ResultsNutrition label reading was significantly high among women, youth, and those with high education and high household income. Nutrition label reading was associated with higher intake of calcium and vitamin C in men and the lower intake of calorie, carbohydrates and higher energy ratio of protein in women. Additionally, male nutrition label readers were associated with adherence to dietary reference intake of fiber (odds ratio [OR], 2.00; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23 to 3.26) and calcium (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.54). In women, there were no significant differences in the adherence to the dietary reference intake in fat, fiber, sodium, potassium, and calcium according to the nutrition label reading.ConclusionIn men, nutrition label reading was associated with healthier intake of several micronutrients, although this was not observed in women. Consideration for clearly reporting vulnerable micronutrients in nutrition labels is necessary.

Consumption of kimchi, a salt fermented vegetable, is not associated with hypertension prevalence

“…The sample for KNHANES was selected using a stratified, multistage, cluster-sampling design with proportional allocations based on the National Census Registry. The 2007The , 2008The , 2009The , 2010, and 2012 KNHANES database comprised data of 4,594,9,744,10,533,8,958,8,518, and 8,058 individuals, respectively, out of a total of 550,405 participants. Individuals who participated in the nutritional survey were considered (n ¼ 45,031).…”

Determinants of the use of nutritional information among grocery shoppers in Penang

“…Studies also show a positive effect of health status on the search for nutrition information (Kim et al, 2001;Lin et al, 2004). Empirical evidence also shows that people with chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia are more likely to be non-users of nutritional information as shown in a Korean study by Kim et al (2014).…”

“…demographic variables, includes gender, age and ethnicity. Past studies found that females seem to be more likely to use nutrition labels compared to males (Guthrie et al, 1995;Mannell et al, 2006;Kim et al, 2014;Cheah et al, 2015). For females, nutritional information is used to make food choices as they are more interested and concerned about their physical image, diet and health (Cheah & Yip, 2017).…”

“…Past research findings show that socio-economic factors also have an influence on the use of nutritional information. Higher educated individuals are most likely to use nutrition labels because higher education levels leads to higher levels of information search and understanding (Guthrie et al, 1995;Drichoutis et al, 2005;Mannell et al, 2006;Magistris et al, 2010;Ranilović & Colić, 2011;Sinclair et al, 2013;Kim at al., 2014;Cheah et al, 2015). Well-educated individuals are aware of the relationship between diet and disease and the knowledge they have enables them to comprehend nutritional information better than others (Guthrie et al, 1995;Cheah et al, 2015).…”

“…The last set of factors is health-related variables such as smoking status and health status. The smoking status of respondents is taken into account in some empirical studies and it was found that respondents who smoke are less likely to use nutrition labels (Kim et al, 2014;Cheah et al, 2015). Studies also show a positive effect of health status on the search for nutrition information (Kim et al, 2001;Lin et al, 2004).…”