Transitions in dietary patterns among adults in South Korea from 1998‐2010: baseline examination of the Severance cohort study (LB454)

Transitions in nutrition patterns tend to emerge through industrialization and economic development. We hypothesized that dietary patterns among adults aged蠅20 years in South Korea have changed significantly from 1998 to 2010. We used a repeated cross‐sectional data from baseline examination of the Severance cohort study wherein 134,366 adults were followed annually. We determined changes in consumption, adjusted for age and sex, and tested the trends across the study period. Factor analysis and cluster analysis were used to derive dietary patterns. The consumption of traditional Korean foods including cereals, vegetables (377g to 256g), and Kimchi (127g to 85g) decreased, while fruit (170g to 251g), dairy, egg, and fried food intakes increased (P<0.05). Total daily energy intake declined steadily from 2003 to 1688 kcal. Carbohydrate intake declined by 17.5% over the study period; however, fat‐derived energy intake increased from 18.6% to 20.1% (P<0.05). Our factor and cluster analyses identified 3 dietary patterns that we termed ‘Korean’ diet (rice, vegetables, and Kimchi), ‘Western’ diet (soda, eggs, and oil) and ‘Well‐being’ diet (low sugar and high fruit and dairy product intakes). Compared to 1998, approximately 40% of participants still followed a Korean diet in 2010. Interestingly, the popularity of the Western diet fell by around a fifth, whereas the Well‐being diet increased two‐fold over the study period. This demonstrates a unique transition in food and nutrient intakes in Korea since 1998. We found secular trends in dietary patterns that included a preservation of the traditional Korean diet and the emergence of a Well‐being diet.