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A comparative study on the nutritional status of the families with working housewives and with non‐working ones
Author(s) -
Lee Joungwon
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.22.1_supplement.677.24
Subject(s) - niacin , riboflavin , medicine , family income , demography , environmental health , nutrient , gerontology , biology , food science , endocrinology , ecology , sociology , economics , economic growth
In order to investigate if the employment of housewives may affect the nutritional status of their family members, an analysis was made for the data of 2001 Korean NHANES. Housewives aged 20 or over were divided into two groups of the employed(43.8%) and the unemployed(56.2%), and household income levels were divided into 4 groups of low, middle, high, and high above according to the minimum cost of living. Nutrients intakes were assessed by using RDA for Koreans revised in 2000. Employed housewives(E) showed similar levels to those of unemployed housewives(UE) in RDA% of energy and most nutrients. However whole family members excluding housewives of E, than those of UE, took less protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin C in RDA% and took more sodium. Such differences were very strong in the age of 7 to 12 and 13 to 19, and also in the middle income households. Red blood cell count were lower and blood HDL‐cholesterol and BMI were higher in the families of E than in those of UE. Interestingly, both systolic and diastolic BP were higher in the family members aged 30 to 49 of E than in those of UE. In conclusion, employment of housewives could have negative influences on the nutritional status of their family members, especially of their school and adolescent children and of the middle income class.