Korean J Fam Pract 2020; 10(5): 371-377  https://doi.org/10.21215/kjfp.2020.10.5.371
Relationship of Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Level and Interest Nutrition on Nutrition Label in Korean Adults: 2008–2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Sung-Ho Ahn1,2, Ji-Won Lee1,2, Jun-Hyuk Lee1,3,*
1Department of Family Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine; 2Department of Family Medicine, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul; 3Department of Family Medicine, Yongin Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yongin, Korea
Jun-Hyuk Lee
Tel: +82-31-5189-8791, Fax: +82-31-5189-8505
E-mail: muzzyljh@yuhs.ac
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1007-1633
Received: July 2, 2020; Revised: September 7, 2020; Accepted: September 10, 2020; Published online: October 20, 2020.
© The Korean Academy of Family Medicine. All rights reserved.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: Low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is an important metabolic marker, and it is suggested to be closely related with dietary habits. The use of nutrition labels is beneficial for making healthier food choices. In addition, dietary habits and nutrients of interest vary among nutrient label users. This study investigated the association between different nutrients of interest and LDL cholesterol levels in Korean adults.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 21,870 adults from the 2008–2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Participants were divided into five groups according to the nutrients they were most interested in: 1) total calories, 2) carbohydrates, 3) protein, 4) fat, and 5) non-users of nutrition label. LDL cholesterol target level was set according to individual cardiovascular risk level. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to verify which nutrient of interest is related to the achievement of LDL cholesterol target level.
Results: Participants who were interested in total calories consumed lesser total calories and carbohydrates daily than those in the other groups did. Moreover, compared with the “not reading nutrition label” group, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for achieving LDL cholesterol target level was 1.29 (1.05–1.58, P=0.015) in the “total calories” group after adjusting for confounding variables.
Conclusion: Participants who were interested in total calories were more likely to achieve optimal LDL cholesterol levels than those who did not read nutrition labels. Therefore, reading nutrition labels, especially focusing on total calories, can be helpful for reducing cardiovascular risk.
Keywords: Food Labeling; Nutrition; Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol; Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
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