The purpose of this study was to determine the relation between serum lipid profiles, apolipoprotein E phenotype, and dietary patterns in a cross-section of healthy individuals from Cheju-Do. Age, gender, anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, dietary consumption, drinking / smoking habits and menopausal status were surveyed. Total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, fasting blood glucose, and insulin levels were measured from overnight fasting blood. The study involved a total of 286 individuals(147 men and 139 women) between the ages of 20 and 60 years old. All of the subjects were recruited from a population of healthy individuals living in Cheju-Do. The results of the study are as follows : 1) Among the males, those in their 20's had the maximum food intake, while those in their 40's had the minimum food intake. For the females, food intake was the highest for those in their 30's. Energy and nutrient intakes were directly proportional to the amount of food intake. Men in their 30's were heavier than other men and women in their 40's were heavier than other women. The activity index for men in their 20's and 30's appeared to be lower than that of men above 40. The activity index of women in their 20's appeared to be lowest among all aged groups, and the index appeared to increase from the age of 30 onwards. 2) In terms of changes In serum constituents with age, men in their 40's appeared to have the highest levels of serum constituents such as lipids, glucose, and insulin. Men in their 50's showed the highest levels of serum LDL-cholesterol and glucose. Men in their 30's showed peak levels of serum triglycerides. On the other hand, women in their 50's appeared to have peak levels of serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides. There was no ch:ange with age in HDL-cholesterol and insulin levels for men and women. The percentage of the subjects had the following apo E phenotypes : E3/3, 91.3% ; E3/2, 5.4% ; E4/3, 2.5% ; E4/2, 0.7%. Lee's reserch with Korean female college students showed that the percentage of ApoE3/3, E3/2, E 4/2, E4/3, and E4/4 were 84.8%, 6.7%, 6.7%, 0.9%, 0.9%, respectively. The number of samples with ApoE mutation was so small that there was no statistical significance in the relation between apolipoprotein E phenotype and se겨m lipids. 3) To investigate the relati onship between weight and serum constituents, the subjects of this study were divided into three groups by BMI underweight, normal weight, and overweight. The serum constituents of men and women below the age 40 in the overweight groups belonged to the normal domain. On the other hand, serum cholesterol levels of both men and women above the age 40 in the overweight groups remained in the borderline-high region(above 200mg/dl), and the mean value of LDL-cholesterol(above 130mg/dl) and triglycerides of men were above normal. Fasting blood glucose levels also remained in the borderline-high region. Total cholesterol levels of women above the age 40 in the overweight group was in the borderline-high region. (Korean J Nutrition 31(9) : 1481-1497, 1998)