The Dietary Habits of the Nonagenarian Population in Longevity Belt in Korea

Lee, Mee Sook

Abstract

The dietary habits and eating behaviors of nonagenarian subjects over 90 years old in Korean representative longevity belts of Damyang, Gokseong, Kurye, Sunchang were evaluated. The subjects of the study were 91 elderly people (26 males and 65 females) over 90 years old and their dietary habits, food preferences and meal patterns were collected by individual interview. The percentage of subjects, who answered "very good" or "good" for their health status, was 65.9%. In this study, 55% of subjects were without chronic diseases, and there was no significance difference in gender. Many subjects had performed regular exercise and outdoor activity. The rate of eating together with their family was 79.1%. Most of subjects (91.2%) had a regular mealtime consuming three meals a day, and they had good appetite and pleasure of eating. The higher preference of food group was fruits (95.6%), legumes (94.5%), mushrooms (93.4%) and vegetables (92.3%), but the amount of intakes is higher in vegetables than the others. Eating with family, regular exercise and self-rated good health are improved their nutrient intakes. Most frequently consumed meal pattern was rice plus soup and side dishes. The side dish consumed frequently was Namul (blanch and seasoned vegetables). From this study, the nonagenarian populations in longevity belt in Korea have good dietary habits such as regular mealtime, constant amount of meal and eat with pleasure. They are taking Korean traditional meal pattern, providing enriched antioxidant vegetable foods. Also, it can be concluded that the amount and quality of diet in the long-lived elderly are responsible for the Korean traditional family system.