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Review
Nutritional strategies to promote healthy life expectancy of Korean older adults based on their nutritional status and current nutrition programs: a narrative review
SuJin Song†orcid
Korean Journal of Community Nutrition 2026;31(4):297-308.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2026.00283
Published online: August 31, 2026

Associate Professor, Department of Food and Nutrition, Hannam University, Daejeon, Korea

†Corresponding author: SuJin Song Department of Food and Nutrition, Hannam University, 1646 Yuseong-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34054, Korea Tel: +82-42-629-8791 Fax: +82-42-629-8789 Email: sjsong@hnu.kr
• Received: July 30, 2026   • Revised: August 6, 2026   • Accepted: August 11, 2026

© 2026 The Korean Society of Community Nutrition

This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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  • Objectives
    Korea has entered a super-aged society, resulting in a growing socioeconomic burden and rapidly increasing demand for home- and community-based nutrition services. This review aimed to examine the nutritional health status of Korean older adults and the existing nutrition programs, along with suggesting effective nutritional strategies to improve their healthy life expectancy.
  • Methods
    This narrative review was conducted by collecting and synthesizing domestic and international literature, including journal articles, books, government documents, national health statistics, and reports on foreign nutrition programs. The literature was collected through scholarly databases and institutional websites searches using relevant keywords.
  • Results
    The synthesized results indicate that Korean older adults have insufficient intakes of essential nutrients, such as calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C, alongside a high prevalence of multimorbidity and associated polypharmacy. Existing community-based nutrition programs provide meal services, home-delivered meals/side dishes, and nutrition education/counseling to vulnerable older populations. Additionally, the Center for Social Welfare Foodservice Management contributes to overseeing nutrition and hygiene management in small-scale elderly foodservice facilities. However, more effective nutritional strategies are required to achieve fully integrated community care. First, home-based nutrition care services for community-dwelling older adults should be introduced to enable tailored nutritional management. Second, expanding and strengthening the role of the Center for Social Welfare Foodservice Management may facilitate efficient management of meals across elderly foodservice facilities. Third, specialized education and training programs are required to enhance the professional competency of dietitians delivering these services. Furthermore, robust legal, institutional, and budgetary foundations, improved working conditions and job security for dietitians, and heightened public awareness of nutrition services are needed.
  • Conclusion
    Implementing these strategies may prevent functional decline and disease aggravation, and ultimately reduce the socioeconomic costs associated with medical treatment, nursing, and long-term care of older adults.
  • Keywords: aged; nutritional status; nutrition policy; healthy life expectancy; Republic of Korea
South Korea became a super-aged society in 2025, with the proportion of older adults exceeding 20%, and this number is projected to reach 40% by 2050 [1]. The major issue is not merely the increasing number of older adults, but rather the growing socio-economic burden driven by the rise in the number of older adults who have a high need for medical treatment, nursing care, and support, such as the old-old (aged 85 years and older), those living alone, and those with dementia [2]. They are characterized by their need for comprehensive health services that span a wide spectrum, ranging from disease treatment and frailty prevention to nursing and long-term care, as well as support and care for daily living [3].
To prepare for a super-aged society, South Korea introduced the agenda of community-based integrated care (Community Care) in 2018 and enacted the “Act on Integrated Support for Community Care Including Medical Cure and Nursing Care” in March 2024 [4]. This act came into effect in March 2026 [4], and community-based integrated care is a key task for our society today [2]. Community-based integrated care is structured to integrate and connect home visits, visiting health management, home-based nursing care, and community-based care and welfare services so that older adults can receive appropriate medical, nursing, and care services within their familiar communities and homes [2]. As older adults age, their health status changes significantly, leading to continuous shifts in the intensity of medical care, required medical and care services, and utilization patterns ranging from welfare facilities to medical and long-term care institutions [3]. Therefore, the importance of community-based integrated care lies in maintaining the continuity of care for older adults while realizing “aging in place”, thus enabling older adults to live in their homes and communities and delaying institutionalization or hospitalization as long as possible.
Nutrition management is an essential component of community-based integrated care. In older adults, malnutrition frequently occurs due to physical, physiological, and functional aging [5, 6], and can have adverse effects on disease morbidity, mortality, activities of daily living (ADLs), and duration of hospitalization or institutionalization [7-10]. Therefore, providing tailored nutrition management based on the nutritional status and underlying diseases of older adults can effectively delay their admission or institutionalization in facilities or hospitals, resolve issues such as disease aggravation and increased medical expenditure, and ultimately play an effective role in preventing the decline in physical function and cognitive ability, in addition to decreasing mortality [11-14]. In other words, delivering nutrition management services within the framework of integrated care, based in the homes and communities where older adults reside, can have a significant impact on improving their quality of life and extending their healthy life expectancy.
The gap between healthy life expectancy and life expectancy among Koreans shows no signs of narrowing. As of 2024, life expectancy was 83.7 years and healthy life expectancy 65.5 years, with a gap of approximately 18 years between the two [15]. Minimizing this gap can directly enable older adults to live independently in their homes and communities without entering hospitals or facilities, making it essential to establish and implement effective nutrition strategies based on integrated care. Therefore, this review aimed to examine the nutritional health status among older adults in South Korea alongside the existing nutrition programs, explore nutritional strategies aligned with integrated care policies, and ultimately propose effective approaches to contribute to extending the healthy life expectancy of South Korean older adults.
Ethics statement
This study was conducted as a narrative review based exclusively on previously published literature. It did not involve the collection, use, or analysis of human participants, biological specimens, or identifiable personal data. Accordingly, institutional review board (IRB) approval was not required for this study.
Study design
This narrative review was based on a non-systematic literature review. It comprehensively examined the health and nutritional status of older adults in South Korea and the existing community-based nutrition services, while also investigating international nutrition policies and programs targeting the older population. Based on this information, the study aimed to propose effective nutritional strategies to extend the healthy life expectancy of South Korean older adults. The literature collected for the review included academic papers, textbooks, government agency reports, statistical data, and reports from academic organizations. Relevant papers and reports were gathered using academic search engines such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Korean studies Information Service System, and DBpia, while official documents related to health statistics and nutrition policies/programs were collected from the websites of domestic and international institutions, including Ministry of Data and Statistics, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Korea Health Promotion Institute, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA), National Health Insurance Service, and Japan Dietetic Association. The search language was Korean, and the keywords used were “Republic of Korea”, “aged”, “super-aged society”, “community care (community-based integrated care)”, “nutritional status”, “chronic diseases”, “healthy life expectancy”, “nutrition policy”, “nutrition service”, “home-visit (home-based) nutrition service”, and “Center for Social Welfare Foodservice Management”. The corresponding English terms were also combined and used as additional search terms. The final literature search was conducted in July 2026. To reflect the recent nutritional health status of older adults in South Korea and implementation status of domestic and international nutrition programs, this study focused primarily on materials published since 2010. The inclusion and exclusion criteria for the literature were as follows: (1) literature containing information on the current nutritional health status of older adults in South Korea and community-based policies and programs for nutritional improvement was included; (2) peer-reviewed articles, government documents, and reports from authoritative institutions were included; (3) papers without peer review, case reports, conference proceedings, and literature whose topics were irrelevant or redundant to this review were excluded. For comprehensively analyzing the content of the selected literature, this review was structured into three main sections: 1) the health and nutritional status of older adults in South Korea, 2) the current status, effectiveness, and limitations of community nutrition programs in South Korea, and 3) effective nutritional strategies to enhance the healthy life expectancy of older adults in South Korea.
With aging, older adults experience functional decline in various physical organs, which leads to decreased dietary intake and impaired digestion and absorption capabilities, elevating the risk of malnutrition [5, 16]. According to the results of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2024, South Korean older adults consumed calcium at 65%, vitamin A at 57%, and vitamin C at 65% of the levels set by the 2020 Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (KDRIs) (Fig. 1A) [17]. The proportion of individuals with inadequate nutrient intake (defined as the percentage of individuals whose energy intake is less than 75% of the estimated energy requirement, while their intakes of calcium, iron, vitamin A, riboflavin, and vitamin C are all below the estimated average requirement) was approximately 16% (Fig. 1B) [17]. Furthermore, the proportion of individuals consuming calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C below the 2020 KDRIs exceeded 70% for all three nutrients (Fig. 1B) [17].
According to the results of the 2023 National Survey of Older Koreans conducted by KIHASA, approximately 36% of older adults in South Korea required nutritional caution or improvement, and the proportion of older adults concurrently managing three or more chronic diseases was also approximately 36% (Table 1) [18]. Consequently, the average number of medications taken daily by older adults was found to be two. In addition, 25% of individuals used assistive devices (such as dentures) due to impaired masticatory function, and 31.5% reported experiencing difficulties in daily life due to poor chewing ability. Long-term care beneficiaries were shown to be even more vulnerable in terms of nutrition and health (Table 1) [19]. They had an average of 3.5 chronic diseases, and approximately 24% of the beneficiaries reportedly had five or more chronic diseases. More than half of the beneficiaries had hypertension and dementia, and long-term care beneficiaries took an average of 8.3 medications daily. Among home-care service users, the proportion of individuals who were able to perform ADLs without the help from others was limited to 29%.
Korean older adults often have several geriatric chronic diseases and take multiple medications, which can further exacerbate malnutrition. Conversely, malnutrition can make disease management and recovery, as well as the performance of ADLs, even more difficult. Therefore, effective nutrition management tailored to the complex nutritional and health issues of older adults is required. In particular, nutrition services that consider functional aspects, such as masticatory and swallowing functions, digestion and absorption capabilities, and the ability to prepare meals or eat independently, are necessary.
Community-based nutrition programs targeting older adults in South Korea are primarily implemented by public health centers, hospitals, the Center for Social Welfare Foodservice Management, and private organizations, with the target populations and contents of these programs summarized in Table 2. The existing community-based nutrition programs typically take the form of providing free meals to vulnerable or homebound older adults, delivering lunchboxes or side dishes to homes, offering nutrition education or counseling, conducting cooking classes, and providing housekeeping and meal support [20, 21]. In addition, face-to-face and online services centered around public health centers and medical institutions are provided to older adults who require chronic disease management. Furthermore, the Center for Social Welfare Foodservice Management has been established across various regions to oversee the nutrition and hygiene management of small-scale foodservice facilities frequently utilized by older adults [20, 21].
While these existing nutrition programs offer advantages such as improving older adults’ dietary and nutritional management skills, fostering a sense of community through shared meals, and reducing the burden of meal preparation while providing diverse foods for homebound seniors with limited mobility, they also have certain limitations. They are often restricted primarily to socioeconomically vulnerable groups and do not provide tailored nutrition management that adequately considers the beneficiaries’ health conditions, such as underlying diseases, medication use, and masticatory or swallowing functions.
In particular, for home-care users under the national long-term care insurance system who experience difficulties in daily life or community participation, meal management is typically carried out through visiting care services, where care workers prepare and provide meals [22]. However, care workers are not nutrition experts, and their training programs rarely include nutrition-related coursework, making it difficult to systematically address issues such as malnutrition in older adults and mealtime difficulties caused by aging and diseases [22]. Similarly, nutrition supplement prescriptions provided through nurses do not offer adequate systematic and fundamental nutrition management for older adults. According to a report by the National Health Insurance Research Institute of the National Health Insurance Service, issues have been raised regarding the lack of systematic management of foodservices in long-term care facilities, such as lack of dietitians in these facilities or inadequate foodservice management standards [23]. For adult day-care centers and short-term respite care facilities included in home-care benefits under the national long-term care insurance, meal service is not a mandatory requirement, resulting in even more vulnerable conditions regarding the deployment of dietitians and status of foodservice provisions involving kitchen facilities [24].
According to the results of the 2024 Survey of older Koreans in Seoul [25], older adults expressed a high demand for care services, specifically a desire for diversification of the content of care services and expansion of home-care service hours. Furthermore, according to the 2022 long-term care status survey [19], families of home-care beneficiaries indicated that meal and nutrition services were the most in demand among home-care services, with a high level of interest and demand for nutrition services among both older adults and their families. Considering the advantages and limitations of the existing nutrition programs alongside the demand for nutrition services among older adults and their families, it is necessary to design and implement customized nutrition services based on integrated care. Accordingly, this review proposes three nutritional strategies as follows.
Provision and expansion of home-based nutrition care services
To ensure effective integrated care, strategies for providing home-based nutrition care and meal services are required. In Japan, which entered a super-aged society ahead of South Korea, nutrition management is incorporated into home-care benefits as a community-integrated service to provide older adults with more effective nutrition services [23, 26]. In 2005, Japan established the Community-Based Integrated Care System, which provides comprehensive nursing care, medical care, and preventive services tailored to the circumstances of community members [27, 28]. This system is generally conceptualized around daily living zones where necessary services can be provided within 30 minutes, and deploys community comprehensive support centers and care managers within the community to support and link these services [28]. Notably, Japan recognizes home-based nutrition services through medical and long-term care insurance reimbursement, and dietitians formulate nutrition management plans and provide information and nutritional guidance for homebound care recipients or facility residents based on the nutrition treatment plans prescribed by physicians (Fig. 2) [23, 29]. Dietitians perform their duties in collaboration with care managers.
In 2018, Japan established “Nutrition Care Stations” regionally to manage the nutrition of community members, form inter-institutional networks for this purpose, and provide professional personnel, with these stations taking charge of community nutrition management [30]. Nutrition Care Stations provide nutrition education and counseling to individuals or groups, handle public foodservice operations, support home-visit nutrition and meal services for older adults and patients receiving home-based care, and perform nutrition management in conjunction with medical institutions and dental clinics (Fig. 3) [30]. Furthermore, to train professional dietitians capable of providing nutrition and meal guidance suited to the diseases, health, and nutritional status of home-care recipients, Japan launched the “Home-based Accredited Dietitian” system in 2011 [22]. This system ensures the provision of effective home-based nutrition services with consideration of older adults’ health status, diseases, and masticatory and swallowing functions. These home-based nutrition services are immensely helpful in preventing frailty and diseases and are even more valuable for older adults who already have diseases.
Similarly, in South Korea, some local governments have developed integrated care service models that incorporate nutrition services, transitioning to full-scale operations after pilot projects. Gwangju Metropolitan City’s integrated care service includes meal support service that deliver meals and side dishes to older adults who have difficulty in managing daily life [31]. Jincheon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, has established home-visit medical services (including medical treatment, nursing, rehabilitation, nutrition, and pharmaceutical care) as part of its integrated care service to improve medical and welfare accessibility for homebound older adults [32]. For the successful introduction and execution of effective home-based nutrition services, the development of service models, implementation of pilot projects, and evaluation of their effectiveness are necessary. Specifically, the target populations, procedures, contents, frequency, and reimbursement fees for nutrition services should be designed to verify their feasibility and effectiveness. In addition, active plans for collaboration among dietitians, other healthcare professionals, and elderly welfare and long-term care facilities should be explored.
Strengthening the role of the Center for Social Welfare Foodservice Management and promoting inter-agency collaboration in the community
Since integrated care is structured to provide comprehensive medical, nursing, and care services based in the community and homes where older adults reside, strategies are needed to further strengthen the roles of organizations responsible for the health and nutrition management of older adults within the community and to actively link these organizations together. Although the number of welfare facilities for older adults continues to increase with the expansion of social care [33], meals provided by these facilities have been found to be highly vulnerable in terms of hygiene, safety, and nutrition management [24]. Therefore, the role of the Centers for Social Welfare Foodservice Management should be strengthened to manage the nutrition and hygiene of meals provided by facilities, senior welfare centers, and senior community centers (gyeongnodang) [34]. In addition to expanding the establishment of these centers, it is worth making center registration mandatory for senior welfare and long-term care facilities, adding nutrition and foodservice management to the evaluation criteria for accreditation of senior facilities, or granting bonus points in accreditation evaluations to facilities that achieve excellent foodservice management. To enable the centers to play a pivotal role in integrated care-nutrition management services, they can actively collaborate with other institutions to identify older adult beneficiaries, design nutrition management manuals, and develop and distribute therapeutic or specialized meal plans. Japan’s Nutrition Care Stations connect nutrition services within the community and serve as base centers for the nutrition management of community-dwelling older adults by collaborating with local governments, medical institutions, senior welfare and long-term care facilities, and private enterprises (Fig. 3) [30]. In particular, dietitians at Nutrition Care Stations collaborate with multidisciplinary healthcare teams to provide nutrition services to older adults in the community and those who are homebound, as well as nutrition management services for outpatients [30].
Through efficient coordination among various organizations within the community, such as public health centers, hospitals (medical institutions), welfare and long-term care institutions, academic societies, and Center for Social Welfare Foodservice Management, beneficiaries can be identified and health and nutrition information can be shared mutually, thereby achieving effective nutrition management of older adults. Health services for older adults should be provided through an integrated delivery system, which requires smooth transitions between each care stage and coordination among related fields, ensuring that older adults receive appropriate services as they move from acute care to transitional/rehabilitative care and long-term care [3]. Furthermore, a multidisciplinary team approach involving diverse healthcare professionals, such as physicians, nurses, dietitians, social workers, and physical therapists, is required to comprehensively meet the complex health needs of patients [3].
Enhancing the professional competency of dietitians as primary providers of nutrition services for older adults
The final proposed strategy is the enhancement of the professional competency of dietitians, who are the primary agents responsible for nutrition management targeting older adults. Older adults simultaneously experience various diseases and aging symptoms, making dietician-led nutrition management essential for tailored nutrition interventions and provision of special or therapeutic diets [35]. Therefore, it is necessary to establish educational programs to strengthen the job competencies and professional expertise of dietitians working in the field of nutrition and foodservice management for older adults, enabling them to continuously enhance their knowledge, skills, and competencies in the field of geriatric nutrition management. Provision of practical-focused education, which encompasses an understanding of diseases themselves as well as nutritional management plans for preventing, treating, and managing them; frailty prevention; and preparation of mastication/swallowing-aiding or disease-specific therapeutic diets, along with experiential training of dieticians to effectively deliver nutrition education and counseling to older adults are necessary to make health and nutrition services for older adults more effective.
Providing the tools required to deliver tailored nutrition services to older adults, such as nutrition assessment tools, therapeutic/specialized meal plans and recipes, and educational materials for nutrition education and counseling that dietitians can utilize in the field, can enhance the professionalism and efficiency of dietitians. The commonly utilized dietary intake and nutrition assessment tools for older adults include the 24-hour recall method, Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), Nutrition Quotient for Elderly (NQ-E), and the DETERMINE checklist [36-38]. The overall health and nutritional status are also assessed through anthropometric and biochemical measurements, such as weight change, degree of frailty, muscle mass, grip strength, and ADLs [36-38]. Additional nutrition assessment tools can be developed for easily utilizing in the field to ensure delivery of tailored nutrition services to older adults. Furthermore, efforts should be made to continuously train dietitians, who are essential for geriatric nutrition management, and make their deployment mandatory in senior-related facilities and institutions.
Living in one’s long-cherished and familiar home (community) for as long as possible in old age is the preferred residential arrangement for most older adults, which is advantageous as it enables them to live independently and interact with the community. Integrated care aims to provide comprehensive services, such as medical treatment, nursing care, and support to older adults, based in their homes and communities. It requires effective nutrition management directly linked to health status and diseases that should be provided by nutrition professionals. In particular, it is imperative to design and implement home-based nutrition services and strengthen the roles and cooperation among community institutions, including centers for social welfare foodservice management. Additionally, enhancing the professional expertise and competencies of dietitians, who are the primary providers of nutrition services, and the mandatory placement of dietitians in elderly foodservice facilities are necessary. The establishment of related laws, systems, and budgets, improvement of dietitians’ working conditions and employment stability, and raising social awareness regarding the importance of nutrition services are also required. Through these efforts, the provision of integrated care and tailored nutrition services to older adults are expected to prevent functional decline and exacerbation of diseases, delay institutionalization, and extend the healthy life expectancy of older adults.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

There are no financial or other issues that might lead to conflict of interest.

FUNDING

None.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This review was based on a presentation delivered at the 2025 Fall Conference of the Korean Society of Community Nutrition. During the preparation of this work, the author used Google Gemini for the English translation and graphical refinement of Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. After using this tool, the author reviewed and edited the content as needed and takes full responsibility for the content of the publication.

DATA AVAILABILITY

This narrative review was based on previously published literature and does not contain original data.

Fig. 1.
Nutritional status of Korean older adults. (A) Energy and nutrient intake relative to the 2020 Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (KDRIs). The estimated energy requirement was used as the reference for energy intake, and the recommended nutrient intake was used as the reference for nutrient intake. (B) Proportion of the population whose energy or nutrient intake was less than the 2020 KDRIs. Inadequate nutrient intake was defined as energy intake less than 75% of the estimated energy requirement, and intakes of calcium, iron, vitamin A, riboflavin, and vitamin C less than the estimated average requirement of the KDRIs. Adapted from Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (2025) [17].
kjcn-2026-00283f1.jpg
Fig. 2.
Home-based nutrition care service model for older adults in Japan. Adapted from Seichokai (https://www.seichokai.or.jp/bellpiano/dept/nutritionalmanagement/page/9) [29], recreated with the assistance of AI, with permission.
kjcn-2026-00283f2.jpg
Fig. 3.
Role of Nutrition Care Stations in Japan. Adapted from Japan Dietetic Association (https://www.dietitian.or.jp/carestation/about/) [30], recreated with the assistance of AI, with permission.
kjcn-2026-00283f3.jpg
Table 1.
Health status of the Korean older population
Indicator Value (%)
No. of physician-diagnosed chronic diseases
 None 13.9
 1 22.1
 2 28.0
 3 or more 35.9
 Mean 2.2
Prevalence of chronic diseases
 Hypertension 59.5
 Dyslipidemia 28.9
 Type 2 diabetes 27.7
 Osteoarthritis/Rheumatoid arthritis 16.2
Prevalence of frailty
 Prefrail 32.2
 Frail 4.6
No. of physician-prescribed medications taken per day
 None 16.2
 1–2 52.5
 3–4 26.0
 5 or more 5.3
 Mean 2.2
Presence of chewing difficulty in daily life
 Yes 31.5
 No 68.5
No. of chronic diseases in long-term care insurance beneficiaries
 None 0.8
 1 10.7
 2 21.3
 3 25.5
 4 18.0
 5 or more 23.7
 Mean 3.5
Prevalence of chronic diseases in long-term care insurance beneficiaries
 Hypertension 61.3
 Dementia 54.4
 Type 2 diabetes 31.7
 Osteoarthritis/Rheumatoid arthritis 28.7
 Stroke 20.2
No. of physician-prescribed medications taken per day in long-term care insurance beneficiaries
 4 or less 28.9
 5–9 37.9
 10–14 20.0
 15 or more 13.2
 Mean 8.3
Ability to manage daily life independently outside long-term care service hours among in-home care beneficiaries
 Yes 28.9
 No 71.1

Adapted from Kang et al. (2023) [18].

Adapted from Lee et al. (2022) [19].

Table 2.
Current nutrition programs for the Korean older population
Target population Program Program content Implementing agencies
Low-income older adults Free meal service Operation of senior meal centers (cafeterias), meal delivery services Organizations operating free meal programs, private social welfare institutions/organizations
Elderly care service Housework assistance, meal preparation, adult day care services Comprehensive elderly care service agencies
Cooking session Cooking demonstration and practice, supply of cooking ingredients Public health centers, Centers for Social Welfare Foodservice Management, senior welfare centers
Frail older adults Home-visiting nutrition service Nutrition education and counseling, delivery of meals (boxed meals, side dishes) Public health centers, private social welfare institutions/organizations
Older adults with chronic disease Chronic disease management Nutrition education and counseling Public health centers, hospitals
AI·IoT based healthcare Self-healthcare using digital health devices Public health centers
Small-scale senior meal facilities Nutrition and hygiene management for senior foodservice facilities Provision of standardized menus, nutrition education and counseling, foodservice and hygiene management Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Centers for Social Welfare Foodservice Management
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        Nutritional strategies to promote healthy life expectancy of Korean older adults based on their nutritional status and current nutrition programs: a narrative review
        Korean J Community Nutr. 2026;31(4):297-308.   Published online August 31, 2026
        DOI: https://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2026.00283
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      Nutritional strategies to promote healthy life expectancy of Korean older adults based on their nutritional status and current nutrition programs: a narrative review
      Image Image Image
      Fig. 1. Nutritional status of Korean older adults. (A) Energy and nutrient intake relative to the 2020 Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (KDRIs). The estimated energy requirement was used as the reference for energy intake, and the recommended nutrient intake was used as the reference for nutrient intake. (B) Proportion of the population whose energy or nutrient intake was less than the 2020 KDRIs. Inadequate nutrient intake was defined as energy intake less than 75% of the estimated energy requirement, and intakes of calcium, iron, vitamin A, riboflavin, and vitamin C less than the estimated average requirement of the KDRIs. Adapted from Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (2025) [17].
      Fig. 2. Home-based nutrition care service model for older adults in Japan. Adapted from Seichokai (https://www.seichokai.or.jp/bellpiano/dept/nutritionalmanagement/page/9) [29], recreated with the assistance of AI, with permission.
      Fig. 3. Role of Nutrition Care Stations in Japan. Adapted from Japan Dietetic Association (https://www.dietitian.or.jp/carestation/about/) [30], recreated with the assistance of AI, with permission.

      Fig. 1.

      Fig. 2.

      Fig. 3.

      Nutritional strategies to promote healthy life expectancy of Korean older adults based on their nutritional status and current nutrition programs: a narrative review
      Indicator Value (%)
      No. of physician-diagnosed chronic diseases
       None 13.9
       1 22.1
       2 28.0
       3 or more 35.9
       Mean 2.2
      Prevalence of chronic diseases
       Hypertension 59.5
       Dyslipidemia 28.9
       Type 2 diabetes 27.7
       Osteoarthritis/Rheumatoid arthritis 16.2
      Prevalence of frailty
       Prefrail 32.2
       Frail 4.6
      No. of physician-prescribed medications taken per day
       None 16.2
       1–2 52.5
       3–4 26.0
       5 or more 5.3
       Mean 2.2
      Presence of chewing difficulty in daily life
       Yes 31.5
       No 68.5
      No. of chronic diseases in long-term care insurance beneficiaries
       None 0.8
       1 10.7
       2 21.3
       3 25.5
       4 18.0
       5 or more 23.7
       Mean 3.5
      Prevalence of chronic diseases in long-term care insurance beneficiaries
       Hypertension 61.3
       Dementia 54.4
       Type 2 diabetes 31.7
       Osteoarthritis/Rheumatoid arthritis 28.7
       Stroke 20.2
      No. of physician-prescribed medications taken per day in long-term care insurance beneficiaries
       4 or less 28.9
       5–9 37.9
       10–14 20.0
       15 or more 13.2
       Mean 8.3
      Ability to manage daily life independently outside long-term care service hours among in-home care beneficiaries
       Yes 28.9
       No 71.1
      Target population Program Program content Implementing agencies
      Low-income older adults Free meal service Operation of senior meal centers (cafeterias), meal delivery services Organizations operating free meal programs, private social welfare institutions/organizations
      Elderly care service Housework assistance, meal preparation, adult day care services Comprehensive elderly care service agencies
      Cooking session Cooking demonstration and practice, supply of cooking ingredients Public health centers, Centers for Social Welfare Foodservice Management, senior welfare centers
      Frail older adults Home-visiting nutrition service Nutrition education and counseling, delivery of meals (boxed meals, side dishes) Public health centers, private social welfare institutions/organizations
      Older adults with chronic disease Chronic disease management Nutrition education and counseling Public health centers, hospitals
      AI·IoT based healthcare Self-healthcare using digital health devices Public health centers
      Small-scale senior meal facilities Nutrition and hygiene management for senior foodservice facilities Provision of standardized menus, nutrition education and counseling, foodservice and hygiene management Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Centers for Social Welfare Foodservice Management
      Table 1. Health status of the Korean older population

      Adapted from Kang et al. (2023) [18].

      Adapted from Lee et al. (2022) [19].

      Table 2. Current nutrition programs for the Korean older population

      Table 1.

      Table 2.

      Korean J Community Nutr : Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
      © The Korean Society of Community Nutrition.
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