Comparison of the Dietary Pattern, Nutrient Intakes, and Blood Parameters According to Body Mass Index (BMI) of College Women in Seoul Area

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of obesity on health by analyzing the factors which are related to obesity through the questionnaires on the dietary pattern, nutrient intake and physical measurements. The subjects, 419 college women aged 20 to 24 year-old, were randomly selected from Seoul and data were collected during March to May, 2008 and classified as under underweight, normal weight, and obesity groups according to BMI. However, weight, skeletal muscle mass, body fat mass, fat free mass, percentage of body fat, and waist to hip ratio showed significant differences among all the groups (p less than 0.05). In the obese group, 77.8% ate fat-rich foods such as galbi and samgyopsal more than two times per week, 66.7% ate vegetables other than kimchi (p less than 0.05) as compared to the underweight and normal groups by mini dietary assessment (p less than 0.05). The cholesterol intakes of the underweight, normal weight, and obese groups were 164.67±114.52 mg/dL, 143.31±99.58 mg/dL, and 121.92±54.91 mg/dL, respectively, and the obese group had a significantly lower intake than the other groups (p less than 0.05). The serum total cholesterol levels of the underweight, normal, and obese groups were 177.04±26.36 mg/dL, 189.46±29.05 mg/dL, and 170.00±12.75 mg/dL, respectively, and the obese group showed lower total cholesterol level than the other groups (p less than 0.05). The triacylglycerol level of the obese group (132.00±64.60 mg/dL) was significantly higher than the other two groups (p less than 0.05). The HDL-cholesterol levels of the underweight, normal weight, and obese groups were 51.92±9.39 mg/dL, 59.20±13.53 mg/dL, and 43.00±8.98 mg/dL, respectively, showing that the obese subjects had significantly lower HDL-cholesterol levels as compared to the subjects in the other groups (p less than 0.05). The HDL-C/LDL-C ratios of the underweight (0.52±0.45) and normal weight (0.59±0.23) groups were higher than the ratio of the obese group (0.41±0.06). Total cholesterol were positively correlated with LDL-cholesterol (r=0.768, p less than 0.01), but triacylglycerol were adversely correlated with HDL-cholesterol. In conclusion, our results show that college-aged women in Seoul should be encouraged to amend their overall dietary habits, make a dietary plan that fits their individual needs, and maintain an effective exercise schedule.