Nutrient Intake Status of Koreans by Income Level and Age Group Analyzed from 2001 National Health and Nutrition Survey Data

In order to investigate the differences of nutrient intakes by the economic status and different age groups and to identify the nutritional risk group and its specific nutrition problem, 2001 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey were analyzed. The subject's numbers of 9,391 were classified into four classes such as low (14.2%), medium (37.2%), high (26.0%), and high above (22.6%) on the basis of the family monthly income and the 2001 Korean minimum cost of living according to the family size. Mean intakes of energy and all nutrients assessed by the RDAs, lipid-energy %, and MAR were increased as the economic status were going up. Na intake expressed per 1,000kcal was in reverse. Nearly a half(45.5%) of the low-income people seemed to take nutritionally inadequate diet in consideration with MAR values. Deficiencies of iron and even energy in the toddlers (1 to 2 years) of low-income class were of great concern. Adolescent age group has been observed that their calcium and iron intakes, and possibly energy, were appeared to be the most deficient among all the age groups regardless of the economic status. For the elderly in all the economic status except high-above class, calcium, vitamin A, and riboflavin were commonly deficient nutrients. Calcium deficiency was appeared throughout nearly all the ages except toddlers and all the economic classes. Even in the high-above class 57.3% took insufficient amount of calcium.