A Survey of Food and Nutrient Intakes of Korean Women by Age Groups

ABSTRACT

To study the level of change in food and nutrient intake among different age groups, a dietary survey using the 24-hour recall method was conducted among 80 female elementary school children, 84 high school students, 100 adults from 25 to 35 years old and 120 elderly people over 60 years of age. The results of the study showed that plant food and total food intake were higher in adults and animal food intake was significantly higher in children. The percentage of plant food to total food intake was highest in the elderly and that of animal food to total food intake was highest in the children. The elderly consumed significantly less meat and poultry and more fish than the other groups. However, the children consumed significantly higher amounts of milk and dairy products. The elderly had the lowest Ca intake. Carbohydrate energy intake in the elderly was 70.3%, significantly higher than that for the other age groups. All of the age groups consumed a quantity of Ca below the Korean RDA and 77.5% of the elderly consumed an amount below 75% of the RDA. Nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR) of most nutrients was lowest in the elderly. Mean adequacy ratio (MAR), an index of overall dietary quality, was 0.88 for the children, 0.84 for the adolescents, 0.80 for the adults, and 0.70 for the elderly. Therefore, the results show that food and nutrient intake changes with advancing age, and the overall quality of the diet of elderly people is lower than that for the other age groups.