Evaluation of Dietary Quality in Korea Female according to BMI : From the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Data of 2010

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dietary quality of Korean females according to BMI, using the Korea National Health and Examination Survey data (KNHANES V-1). The study incorporated an individual-based, one-on-one interview with a cohort of 3,552 Korean females, including underweight, obese, and normal subjects, based on BMI calculation from 8,958 samples throughout the country. In this study, BMI between 18.5 and 25 was considered as normal, < 18.5 as underweight, and ≥ 25 as obese. We classified the subjects into three groups: the underweight group (n = 206), normal group (n = 2,353) and obese group (n = 993). The result of analysis of nutrient intake was a percentage of Korean RNI. Overall, calcium intake tended to be lower for groups with lower BMI. The result of dietary quality are as follows: For NAR analysis, all groups showed a less than 1.0 for all nutrient levels. In particular, with respect to calcium, all groups showed to have a lower NAR score than that of other nutrients; this was also the case for the Vitamin A. The average NAR score was 0.76 in the underweight group, 0.83 in the normal group, and 0.78 in the obese group. The results suggest the necessity of obesity-related nutritional education programs in Korea, particularly for Korean women.