Composition of Food Groups Appropriate for Evaluation of Diet Quality of Korean Adolescents: Based on Kant's Minimum Amount

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine composition of food groups appropriate for the evaluation of the quality of total diet or food guide, using the data from the 1998 National Health and Nutrition Survey. Twenty-fourhour-dietary recalls of total 1,110 Korean adolescents aged 13 - 19 years (male 543, female 567) were analyzed for food group consumed (Dietary Diversity Score, DDS), intake patterns of food group, mean index of nutritional quality (mINQ) and nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR). Considering Korean food pattern different from the Americans, this study is to check if Korean 5 food groups with both of oil & sugar group and vegetable &fruit group, and a minimum amount of 30 g in grain group and 15 g in meat group modified from Kant's minimum amount, 15 g in grain and 30 g in meat, could also be appropriate for the diet evaluation of Korean adolescents. Combination of food group and minimum food intake per each food group used in the first trial were categorized into 6 kinds of types: 1) American 5 food groups with Kant's minimum amount as control or 2) American 5 food groups with modified Kant's minimum amount 3) Korean 5 food groups excluded by sugar with the modified amount 4) Korean 5 food groups with modified amount 5) American food groups added oil group with the modified amount 6) American food groups added oil & sugar group with the modified amount. In case of oil group or oil and sugar group, 5 g was quoted for the minimum amount. Correlation between DDS and indices of other diet quality in each type of food group composition were analyzed and the best food group composition was traced by comparing the correlation coefficients of DDS and mINQ or MARs at alpha < 0.01. There was no meaningful difference in weight length index of the subjects of eating or not-eating oil or oil & sugar, while the values of mINQ showed higher in the subjects eating oil but no difference in the subjects eating oil & sugar, compared to the group not-eating, respectively. In comparison of type 1 and type 2, correlation between DDS and indices of other diet quality showed higher in type 1 using Kant's amount. And comparing the type of a combined group of fruit & vegetable (type 3 and 4) and the type of separated group of fruit and vegetable (type 5 and 6). six groups of separated vegetable and fruit showed the higher correlation of DDSs and indices of diet quality. In case of being classified into six groups with oil, DDS showed correlation of r = 0.293 with INQ. While, being classified into six groups with oil & sugar instead of oil only, DDS showed correlation of r = 0.249 with INQ. Accordingly the type 5 with oil is regarded as the better food group type than the type 6 with oil & sugar. Since better result was shown in the composition of six groups with Kant's minimum amount, the comparative analysis on both of type 1 with oil and oil & sugar was finally performed. Then oil added type 1 showed higher correlation of DDS and indices of diet quality. These result indicated that it would be more appropriate to use six food groups with separate vegetable and fruit including oil group (oil-added type 1) rather than oil &sugar group for evaluat ion of dietary quality of Korean adolescents using DDS.