Association Between Korean-Style Balanced Diet and Risk of Abdominal Obesity in Korean Adults: An Analysis Using KNHANES-VI (2013-2016)

Hye Jeong Yang; Min Jung Kim; Haeng Jeon Hur; Byoung Kook Lee; Myung-Sunny Kim; Sunmin Park

doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.772347

Association Between Korean-Style Balanced Diet and Risk of Abdominal Obesity in Korean Adults: An Analysis Using KNHANES-VI (2013-2016)

Front Nutr. 2022 Jan 20:8:772347. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.772347. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Hye Jeong Yang¹, Min Jung Kim¹, Haeng Jeon Hur¹, Byoung Kook Lee², Myung-Sunny Kim^{1

3}, Sunmin Park⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Functionality Research, Korea Food Research Institute, Wanju-gun, South Korea.
² Department of Preventive Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, South Korea.
³ Department of Food Biotechnology, Korea University of Science and Technology, Wanju-gun, South Korea.
⁴ Department of Food and Nutrition, Obesity/Diabetes Research Center, Hoseo University, Asan, South Korea.

Abstract

Abdominal obesity is a critical factor for metabolic diseases, and specific eating patterns such as the Mediterranean diet help prevent metabolic diseases. This study aimed to investigate the association between the modified Korean health eating index (MKHEI), including a Korean-balanced diet, and abdominal obesity risk according to genders in adults aged 20-64 years (4,886 males and 7,431 females), using the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VI (2013-2016). Adjusted means and 95% confidence intervals of MKHEI scores and nutrient intake estimated using the 24-h recall method were calculated according to abdominal obesity (waist circumference ≥90 cm for men and ≥85 cm for women) after adjusting for age, residence area, region, education, income, drinking status, smoking status, marital status, and exercise. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for abdominal obesity were measured according to MKHEI tertiles using logistic regression analysis while controlling for covariates. Individuals aged >50 years, married, below high school, lower-income, heavy alcohol drinkers, past and current smokers, and males living in the southern areas had a higher risk of abdominal obesity. In both genders, the scores of all MKHEI components were lower in the abdominal obesity group (n = 2,895) than in the control group (n = 9,422). Further, the scores of fruits with and without fruit juice and those of beans, including fermented beans, were lower in the abdominal obesity group only in females but not in males. Further, the scores of fast foods were higher in the abdominal obesity group than in the control group only in females. After adjusting for covariates, the adjusted OR for abdominal obesity was inversely associated with Korean balanced diet (KBD) related to KHEI scores. Unlike KBD, MKHEI of Western-style diet was not associated with abdominal obesity in either gender. In conclusion, KBD can lower the risk of abdominal obesity in females and should thus be recommended to prevent abdominal obesity.

Keywords: Korean health eating index; abdominal obesity; dietary patterns; fermented foods; waist circumferences.