Dietary Variety and Nutrient Intake by 24 hour Recall in Korean College Students

Abstract

Despite the universal recommendation to eat a variety of foods, we still do not know whether and to what extent the variety affects dietary quality. This study was performed to evaluate the dietary variety scores as tools for assessing the dietary quality of Korean young adults. The 1 day dietary intake data were collected from 144 male and 214 female college students (>18 years) using the 24 hour recall method. Relative nutrient intake compared to Korean Recommended Dietary Allowance (KRDA) as the nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR), were computed. Also, the mean adequacy ratio (MAR) was calculated. Dietary variety score (DVS) was determined by counting the number of food items consumed daily, and the dietary diversity score (DDS) by counting the number of food groups consumed daily. Results showed that DVS, DDS and MAR were significantly correlated to each other. The MAR score significantly increased as DDS increased in both men and women. When different DVS (20≤DVS≤30) was evaluated for its sensitivity, specificity, measured prevalence, true prevalence, and positive and negative predictive values towards MAR, DVS 21 was revealed to be optimal dietary variety score as a cutoff point to differentiate Korean young adults with or without an adequate and balanced diet. Nutrient intakes of subjects who had DVS<21 were significantly lower than those of subjects with DVS≥21. These results indicate that the dietary variety score appeared to be an effective tool for evaluating the adequacy of diet in Korean young adults.