Dietary Assessment of Older Korean Adults by Level of Plant Protein Intake

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the dietary habits of older Korean adults according to their level of plant protein intake.

To conduct this study, the daily plant protein intake of 4254 older adults aged 65 years and older who participated in the dietary survey (24-h recall method) of the 2016~2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) was divided into quintiles. And the association among plant protein quintiles and general characteristics, health-related behaviors, dietary habits, nutrient intakes, and Korean Healthy Eating Index (KHEI) was examined.

For the energy contribution of protein, more than 90% of all groups from Q1 through Q5 were in the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR, 7-20%) for protein. In the case of food security, the proportion tended to increase by about 11 percentage points from Q1 (43.4%) to Q5 (54.4%) according to plant protein quintiles, and while food insecurity was above 50% from Q1 to Q3, the percentage tended to decrease as the plant protein quintile increased from Q4 (48.3%) to Q5 (45.3%). Overall, the low plant protein intake group, especially the Q1 to Q3 group, was found to have an inadequate intake of nutrients, including total protein, compared to the recommended intake. In addition, among the components of the KHEI score, the score for the item "consumption of multigrain rice" was found to be very low.

Based on these findings, dietary education or guidelines are needed to increase individual awareness, as well as the development of dietary content at government level to support this.