Abstract
To assess the food intake and diet quality of Koreans living in rural areas with discriminative environment, this dietary survey was conducted with 553 subjects living in five different rural areas using a one-day, 24-hour recall method. The average weight of total food intake was 1066g, with vegetable and animal food comprising 83.75 and 16.3% of total food intake, respectively. The average daily food intakes of residents in the five areas were 985g, 1005g, 1028g, 1318g, and 964g, and were significantly different(p<0.001). Residents of Ulju consumed the largest amount of food, 1318g. The total number of food items consumed was 336. The foods consumed in largest amounts were rice(223g), Korean cabbage-Kimch'i(111g), and soybean curd(41g). The foods consumed most frequently were rice, Korean cabbage-Kimchi, green onion and garlic. When investigating the consumption pattern of the major five food groups, only 5% of subjects consumed all five groups. The groups most frequently missing were dairy products and fruits. The average number of foods consumed per day was 16.8, but differed significantly by area(p<0.001). The number of major food groups (DDS, dietary diversity score) and that of food items(DVS, dietary variety score) correlated positively with NAR (nutrient adequacy ratio) and MAR (mean adequacy ratio). People with a DDS of above 4 or DVS of above 20 met two-thirds of the recommended dietary allowance for most nutrients. When assessing the dietary quality of subjects using DDS and DVS, many people appeared not to have a desirable food intake. dietary guidelines should be made considering the nutritional characteristics of different areas to improve the health of people living in those areas.