ABSTRACT
Purpose@#This study was undertaken to evaluate the health, nutritional status and metabolic syndrome risk according to the dietary pattern of adult single-person households, using information obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). @*Methods@#Data were collected from the 2013–2016 KNHANES, of adults aged 19–64 years, belonging to single-person households. Based on cluster analysis, the dietary patterns of subjects were classified into three groups. The dietary behavior factors, health-related factors, nutritional status, and prevalence of metabolic syndrome obtained from KNHANES questionnaires were compared according to the individual dietary pattern. The nutrient intake data of the subjects were calculated using the semi-food frequency questionnaire.Moreover, blood and physical measurement data of the subjects were analyzed to obtain the prevalence of metabolic syndromes. @*Results@#The major dietary intakes of subjects were classified as ‘Rice and kimchi’, ‘Mixed’, and ‘Milk·dairy products and fruits’ patterns. Characteristics of subjects based on their dietary pattern, gender, age, and education level were significantly different. The ‘Milk and fruits’ pattern showed low frequency of skipping breakfast and eating out, and had higher intake of dietary supplements. Frequency of alcohol intake and smoking rates were highest in the ‘Mixed’ pattern. Maximum nutrient intake of fat, vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin C, niacin, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium was obtained in the ‘Milk·dairy products and fruits’ pattern. According to dietary patterns adjusted for age and gender, the risk of metabolic syndrome was 0.380 times lower in the ‘Milk·dairy products and fruit’ pattern than in the ‘Rice and kimchi’ pattern. However, when adjusted for other confounding factors, no significant difference was obtained between dietary patterns for metabolic syndrome risk. @*Conclusion@#These results indicate that the health and nutritional status of a single-person household is possibly affected by the dietary intake of subjects.