Household food insecurity and dietary intake in Korea: results from the 2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Abstract

Objective: To examine the prevalence of household food insecurity and compare dietary intake by food security status in a representative Korean population. Design: Cross-sectional. Food security status of households was classified using an eighteen-item food security questionnaire. The nutrition survey comprised questions on dietary habits, a 24 h dietary recall and a semi-quantitative FFQ. Setting: The 2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Subjects: A total of 3007 households completed the food security questionnaire. Family members within each household aged ≥1 year (n 7118) participated in the nutrition survey. Results: Results from the 2012 survey indicated that 88·7 % of Korean households showed food security. The remaining 11·3 % (9·3 % for food insecurity without hunger and 2·0 % for food insecurity with hunger) were in food-insecure households. The prevalence of household food insecurity was 13·2 % in households with children and 10·3 % in households without children. Mean daily intakes of energy, fat and carbohydrates were not significantly different between food-secure and food-insecure adults. In contrast, mean daily intakes of protein, crude fibre, vitamins and minerals as well as weekly consumption frequencies of vegetables, seaweeds, fruits, fruit juice, nuts, and milk and milk products were significantly lower in food-insecure adults compared with food-secure adults. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that food insecurity is associated with reduced intakes of healthy foods and nutrients essential for health and growth in a representative Korean population.

Household Food Insecurity Is Associated with Adverse Mental Health Indicators and Lower Quality of Life among Koreans: Results from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2012–2013

“…However, the 18-item questionnaire was recently (since 2012) added to the survey based on the U.S. Household Food Security/Hunger Survey Module to estimate food insecurity in multilateral aspects. In this study, we used data surveyed from the recently developed questionnaire including the newly added 18-item questionnaire [5,26]. The 18-item questionnaire was composed of 3 household-referenced questions, 7 adult-referenced questions, and 8 child-referenced questions.…”

“…Despite remarkable economic development, the prevalence of food insecurity was as high as 14.3% among Americans in 2013 [4]. In Korea, a recent study using data from The Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V-3, 2012, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reported that the prevalence of food insecurity was 11.3% among Korean adults [5]. …”

“…Many studies have reported the associations between food insecurity and unfavorable health outcomes [5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. Food insecurity can cause malnutrition due to inadequate nutrient intake [5,6].…”

“…Food insecurity can cause malnutrition due to inadequate nutrient intake [5,6]. In addition, food insecurity is related to various chronic diseases, such as obesity [7], diabetes [8,9], hypertension [8], asthma [10], and cancer [11].…”

Food deserts in Korea? A GIS analysis of food consumption patterns at sub-district level in Seoul using the KNHANES 2008-2012 data

“…Even with an abundant number of food and grocery sources, however, insufficient accessibility to affordable healthy foods in Korea has been continuously reported, especially significant nutrition imbalance and food insecurity among low-income populations especially children [ 17 18 19 20 21 22 ]. Children from low-income neighborhoods tend to show insufficient intake of protein, vegetables, and fresh fruits mainly due to lack of nutritious meal preparation at home as well as proper parental guidance for healthy eating behaviors [ 17 ].…”