Koreans eat ultra-high-tech foods, and top noodles for the elderly...Unexpected results for middle-aged and elderly people
Mar 25, 2025
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Hyper-formal products are reported to be associated with chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, and public health policies are being promoted overseas to reduce hyper-processed food intake.
According to a recent study published in the journal of the Korean Nutrition Association, the intake of ultra-processed foods has an important effect on energy, nutrients, and food intake in middle and elderly people in Korea. In particular, it was confirmed that the total energy and fat intake was high in the group with high ultra-processed food intake, while the intake of essential nutrients tended to be low.
According to the study, the hyper-formal intake group showed high total energy and carbohydrate, protein, and fat intake, but low micronutrient intake. In particular, it was analyzed that the risk of nutritional imbalance increases due to low intake of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, vitamin C, and folic acid, while sodium intake is high.
There were differences in the pattern of ultra-processed food intake by age group. In the middle-aged and elderly, soju (14.2%) showed the highest calorie contribution rate among ultra-processed foods, followed by noodles (10.7%) and bread (8.9%). Among the elderly, noodles (16.3%), rice cakes (10.6%), and coffee with cream and sugar (10.3%) ranked high. For the super-aged, coffee with cream and sugar (13.4%), noodles (12.9%), and rice cakes (10.3%) were the main super-processed foods. This suggests that the tendency to consume ultra-processed foods differs according to age groups.
Professor Kim Ki-rang's research team at Dankook University, who conducted this study, emphasized that `Although the types of ultra-processed foods are different by age, the risk of nutritional imbalance tends to increase as more ultra-processed foods are consumed.'
The results of this study were recently published in the Journal of Nutrition and Health'.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
