Relationship of Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Level and Interest Nutrition on Nutrition Label in Korean Adults: 2008–2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

ABSTRACT

Background@#Low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is an important metabolic marker, and it is suggested to be closely related with dietary habits.The use of nutrition labels is beneficial for making healthier food choices. In addition, dietary habits and nutrients of interest vary among nutrient label users. This study investigated the association between different nutrients of interest and LDL cholesterol levels in Korean adults. @*Methods@#This cross-sectional study included 21,870 adults from the 2008–2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Participants were divided into five groups according to the nutrients they were most interested in 1) total calories, 2) carbohydrates, 3) protein, 4) fat, and 5) non-users of nutrition label. LDL cholesterol target level was set according to individual cardiovascular risk level. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to verify which nutrient of interest is related to the achievement of LDL cholesterol target level. @*Results@#Participants who were interested in total calories consumed lesser total calories and carbohydrates daily than those in the other groups did. Moreover, compared with the “not reading nutrition label” group, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for achieving LDL cholesterol target level was 1.29 (1.05–1.58, P=0.015) in the “total calories” group after adjusting for confounding variables. @*Conclusion@#Participants who were interested in total calories were more likely to achieve optimal LDL cholesterol levels than those who did not read nutrition labels. Therefore, reading nutrition labels, especially focusing on total calories, can be helpful for reducing cardiovascular risk.