Mortality Rate Low When Carbohydrates, Fats and Proteins are Consumed in a Ratio of 5:3:2

The research team suggested that to ensure healthy dietary habits, people should reduce their consumption of carbohydrates, while consuming more fats and protein. (image: Lotte Department Store)

SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent study found that the share of carbohydrates in the caloric content of one meal for South Korean adults averages a whopping 67 percent.

Researchers at Gangnam Severance Hospital in Seoul tracked 42,192 adults who participated in separate national health and nutritional surveys conducted between 2007 and 2015.

The study showed that the share of carbohydrates in their average nutrition intake stood at about 67 percent, followed by fats at about 17 percent and protein at about 14 percent.

The analysis of the correlation between the nutrition intake ratio and the mortality rate showed that the mortality rate is the lowest when the meal has a caloric content of 50 to 60 percent carbohydrates, 30 to 40 percent fats, and 20 to 30 percent protein.

The research team suggested that to ensure healthy dietary habits, people should reduce their consumption of carbohydrates, while consuming more fats and protein.

The research team recommended that the desirable consumption ratio of carbohydrates, fats and protein for a single meal is 5:3:2.

In fact, the consumption of carbohydrates and fats more or less than adequate ratio turned out to have a negative impact on the mortality rate.

The consumption of carbohydrates 50 percent less than the adequate ratio led to a 31.3 percent increase in the mortality rate, while the consumption of carbohydrates 60 percent more than the suggested ratio resulted in a 32.2 percent increase in the mortality rate.

In addition, a ratio of fats lower than 30 percent resulted in a 43.9 percent increase in the mortality rate, while a ratio higher than 40 percent led to a more than threefold increase in the mortality rate.

In contrast, over or under-consumption of protein had no impact on the mortality rate.

Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)