Animal and Plant Protein Intake and Socioeconomic Status in Young and Middle-Aged Korean Adults

Abstract

Background: Dietary intake is affected by socioeconomic status (SES). The aim of this study is to assess adequacy of protein intake, and to investigate the association between SES, in terms of household income and educational attainment, and protein intake according to the protein source i.e., plant or animal protein, in a nationally representative sample of young and middle-aged Korean adults.Methods: We used cross-sectional data from 1,404 Koreans, aged between 19 and 64, who had participated in the 2016-2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. One day (24-hour) recall data was used to estimate the daily total of animal and plant protein intake. Household income quartiles and educational attainment were assessed by trained interviewers.Results: The proportion of protein intake adequacy, based on the Korean recommended nutrient intake (RNI; 0.91 g/kg/day), was 66.5% (0.8) for males and 58.2% (0.8) for females. After adjustment, household income quartiles were positively associated with animal protein intake with a marginal significance both in males (P=0.051) and females (P=0.080) and showed a marginal negative association with plant protein intake in males (P=0.050) and a marginal positive association in females (P=0.074). Educational attainment was positively associated with total protein (P=0.001), animal protein (P=0.003), and plant protein intake (P=0.002), only in females.Conclusions: One out of three young and middle-aged Korean adults showed protein intake inadequacy. Socioeconomic status, measured by household income and educational attainment, was associated with protein intake in young and middle-aged Korean adults and the associations were more marked in females.