Nutrition Research and Practice

The Korean Nutrition Society (한국영양학회)
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Gender differences in the association between food costs and obesity in Korean adults: an analysis of a population-based cohort

  • Soim Park (Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) ;
  • Jihye Kim (Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Kyung Hee University)
  • Received : 2022.09.01
  • Accepted : 2023.07.18
  • Published : 2023.10.01
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Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Prior studies, mostly conducted in Western countries, have suggested that the low cost of energy-dense foods is associated with an increased risk of obesity. This study aimed to investigate the association between food costs and obesity risk among Koreans who may have different food cost and dietary patterns than those of Western populations. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We used baseline data from a cohort of 45,193 men and 83,172 women aged 40-79 years (in 2006-2013). Dietary intake information was collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Prudent and Western dietary patterns extracted via principal component analysis. Food cost was calculated based on Korean government data and market prices. Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the association of daily total, prudent, and Western food cost per calorie with obesity. RESULTS: Men in the highest total food cost quintile had 15% higher odds of obesity, after adjusting for demographic characteristics and lifestyle factors (adjusted odds ratio, 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.22; P-trend < 0.001); however, this association was not clear in women (P-trend = 0.765). While both men and women showed positive associations between prudent food cost and obesity (P-trends < 0.001), the association between Western food cost and obesity was only significant in men (P-trend < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In countries in which consumption of Western foods is associated with higher food costs, higher food costs are associated with an increased risk of obesity; however, this association differs between men and women.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

Data used in this study were obtained from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study_Health Examinees (KoGES_HEXA), collected by the National Research Institute of Health, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Ministry for Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea. We would like to thank the study participants and staff.

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