BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Metabolic syndrome is closely associated with lifestyle factors, including diet and nutritional intake. Modern trends show a shift in food consumption from healthy home-cooked meals to processed and instant foods. Therefore, this study analyzed the association between ultra-processed food intake and the development of metabolic syndrome in Korean adults based on the data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2013–2018. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The subjects of this study were 17,414 adults aged 19–80 years who participated in the 6th–7th KNHANES. Processed food was classified into four categories, NOVA1 to NOVA4, using 24-h recall data. The higher the NOVA category, the more processed the food. Statistical analysis was conducted using logistic regression to investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to the consumption of ultra-processed foods. RESULTS: Among the diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome, hypertension (odds ratio [OR], 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62–0.85; Q4 vs. Q1, P-trend < 0.001) and high triglycerides (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.72–0.94; Q4 vs. Q1, P-trend < 0.001) showed a correlation with the percentages of energy consumed from ultra-processed foods. The OR for metabolic syndrome, according to the percentages of energy consumed from ultra-processed foods, is shown only for men. The OR showed that the percentages of energy consumed from ultraprocessed foods were associated with increased metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that consumption of ultra-processed foods raises the risk of metabolic syndrome especially among men. To prevent metabolic syndrome, it is necessary to prepare appropriate dietary guidelines for Korean adults.

Purpose: To provide the primary data on dietary guidelines for the management of obesity, we analyzed the intake rate of food groups and dish groups according to obesity and age.Data were obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANSE, 2013–2018). Methods: This study analyzed the data of 21,184 adults aged 19-64 years, obtained from the KNHANSE 2013–2018. The 24-hour recall was performed and the food groups were classified into six representative food groups (grains, meat·fish·eggs·legumes, vegetables, fruits, milk and dairy, and oil and sugar), and ‘alcohol’ and ‘others’. The dish groups were classified into a total of twenty-four types. Results: The normal group included 9,004 subjects (42.5%), while the obese group had 12,180 subjects (57.5%). The food groups showing significant differences according to obesity were grains (p < 0.001), meat/fish/egg/legumes (p < 0.001), and vegetables (p < 0.001); similar results were obtained in both male and female. Comparing the intake rate of food groups and dish groups targeting only the obese group according to age, the food groups showing significance between the obese group and the normal group were grains (p < 0.001) and vegetables (p < 0.001), with significantly increased intake in both genders. Considering the dish groups, significant increases were determined for stews (p < 0.001), seasoned vegetables (p < 0.001), and kimchi (p < 0.001) in male, and for rice (p < 0.001), seasoned vegetables (p < 0.001), kimchi (p < 0.001), and rice cakes (p < 0.001) in female. Conclusion The results of this study determined that the intake ratio of food and dish groups differs by age in obese adults. We believe that our results can be used as primary data for forming dietary guidelines for obese adults in the future.