Nutrient Intakes of First Generation Korean-American in Hawaii

To evaluate nutrient intakes of the first generation Korean -Americans in Hawaii, a dietary survey was conducted using a food frquency questionaire which included 139 food items most often consumed among Korean foods and American foods. The questionnaire surveyed 157 first generation Korean-Americans living in Hawaii. The 66.7~81.1% of first generation Korean-Americans in Hawaii were of healthy weight. The mean percentages of calories obtained from their dietary analyses were 61% carbohydrate, 23% fat and 16% protein. The calorie distribution of their diet appeared to be similiar between older women and older men, however it was seen that men consumed a higher percent of calories from fat than women among younger subjects. The mean dietary intakes for first generation Korean-Americans exceeded recommended intakes for protein, thiamin, niacin , vitamin A, vitamin C, folacin , phosphorus and iron , but the intakes of energy, riboflavin, vitamin B6 ,vitamin E, calcium and zinc were lower than the recommended dietary allowance for Americans. Compared with other groups based on age and gender , younger men had significantly(p<0.05) higher intakes of riboflavin, phosohrous, iron and zinc, and lower intake of folacin. Older subjects consumed significantly (p<0.05) less protein, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and zinc than did younger subjects, and most of the first generation Korean-Americans in Hawaii consumed adequate levels of saturated fatty acid . The ratio , however, of polyunsaturated fatty acid to saturated fatty acid in the diet of younger men was about 0.61, much lower than the recommeded ration of 1.0 and also was significantly (p<0.05) lower than that of other subjects. Moreover, cholesterol intakes of younger men were close th the maximum recommeded level of 300mg/day.