Gen Z's diet quality declines as they miss out on crucial food groups
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Koreans struggle more with getting adequate nutrition than excessive consumption of unhealthy foods: study
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What should people reduce first to make sure they're eating a healthy diet?
People often think of cutting salty or sweet foods first, but an evaluation released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) highlighted a different weakness. Rather than excessive consumption of unhealthy foods, the larger problem was insufficient intake of mutigrain foods, fruit and dairy products.
Korean adults scored 58.6 out of 100 for diet quality. Measures for mixed grains, fruit and dairy products all fell short of 50 points, while people in their 20s posted a total score of 50.3 — the lowest among all age groups.
Missing food groups drive low scores
The index measures how closely adults aged 19 and older follow healthy eating guidelines. Fulfilling all criteria yields a perfect score of 100.
The evaluation assesses breakfast consumption and the intake of mixed grains, fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, legumes and dairy products. It also measures whether sodium, sugar and saturated fat are consumed in excess, along with the overall balance of carbohydrates, fats and total calories.
The 2022-2024 average of 58.6 remained similar to the 58.9 recorded from 2019 to 2021. Scores for fresh fruit intake and sodium moderation rose, while measures for total vegetables and the proportion of calories from saturated fat and carbohydrates decreased slightly.
The agency clarified that a higher sodium score indicates lower sodium intake. The score increase reflects an improvement in sodium moderation compared to the previous period.
When the KDCA standardized each measure to a 100-point scale, people's scores for consumption of proteins and their sodium moderation were both scored above 70. Conversely, multigrain food, total fruit, fresh fruit and dairy product consumption scores fell short of 50.
The total fruit metric includes fresh, dried, frozen and canned fruit. The agency explicitly excluded fruit beverages, meaning fruit-flavored drinks did not count toward fruit consumption.
Gen Z score low in all categories
Men posted a diet quality score of 57.6, trailing women at 59.6.
Age differences also revealed a stark divide. People in their 20s posted the lowest scores, averaging 50.3, followed by those in their 30s at 52.8. Scores steadily increased with age, peaking at 66.1 for adults aged 70 and older.
People in their 20s and 30s scored below other age groups on most measures, falling far short in wholegrain and fruit intake. Their scores for breakfast consumption and saturated fat moderation also failed to reach half of the allocated points.
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The survey did not pinpoint specific foods or lifestyle issues causing the low scores among younger adults. However, a separate 2023 national health survey analysis showed that diet, physical activity, alcohol consumption and obesity rates among people in their 20s has steadily worsened over the past 10 years.
Individuals do not need to adopt a perfect diet all at once. A more realistic approach involves identifying problems and making healthy substitutions. For example, this could mean gradually replacing part of their white rice intake with whole grains or adding fruit and dairy products to their meals.
Older adults fall short on dairy
Adults in their 40s and 50s scored above younger adults but below those aged 60 and older, still scoring less than half of the available points for consumption of whole grains, fruit and dairy products.
People aged 60 and older posted high overall scores, but their performance varied across measures. Milk and dairy products remained the lowest-scoring measure, and their proportion of calories from carbohydrates frequently fell outside the recommended range.
The KDCA said older adults need to diversify away from meals centered on grains and make sure they consume adequate protein, including dairy products, meat, fish, eggs and legumes.
The index is a population-level average derived from survey participants, not an individual health assessment. A score of 50.3 does not apply to every person in their 20s, nor does every adult aged 70 and older follow a healthy diet.
Beyond focusing on the average score, individuals should evaluate their own meals. The survey confirmed that multigrain foods, fruit and dairy products remain the most notable gaps on Korean dining tables.
This article from Kormedi.com, Korea’s top health care and medical portal, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.