Macronutrient Intake in Adults Diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome: Using the Health Examinee (HEXA) Cohort

Macronutrient intake is important in the prevention and management of metabolic syndrome (MetS). This study aimed to evaluate total energy and macronutrient intake of participants diagnosed with MetS at recruitment of the health examinees (HEXA) cohort, considering the plant and animal sources of each macronutrient. We included 130,423 participants aged 40–69 years for analysis. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated to evaluate the intake of macronutrients stratified by gender. Energy and macronutrient intake were estimated by linking food frequency questionnaire data to the Korean food composition database, and were calculated separately for plant and animal foods. Low energy (men: OR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92–0.98; women: OR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.95–0.99), and fat intake (men: OR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.90–0.96; women: OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.77–0.83) were observed. Only postmenopausal women had lower intake of total energy (OR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92–0.97), whereas low fat intake was observed in all women (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.77–0.83). For carbohydrate intake, the OR were 1.14 (95% CI: 1.08–1.22) and 1.17 (95% CI: 1.08–1.27) among women in their 50s and 60s, respectively. Protein intake was low (OR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.86–0.95; and OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.82–0.94) among women in their 50s and 60s, respectively. High intake of plant carbohydrates in women (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.12–1.20), and plant protein in both genders (OR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.05–1.13) were observed, but low intake of total energy, fat, and animal-source carbohydrates in both genders was also observed. Fat intake was low regardless of food source. In conclusion, high consumption of plant-source macronutrients, and low consumption of animal-source macronutrients was observed in Korean adults diagnosed with MetS. Attention should be directed to plant sources of carbohydrates and proteins when designing population interventions for metabolic syndrome reduction in Korea.