Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the association between, smoking, exercise, sex, and dietary carotenoids ($\alpha$-carotene, $\beta$-carotene, $\beta$-cryptoxanthin, lutein + zeaxanthin, lycopne) intake in Korean middle-aged adults. Food-frequency questionnaire were analyzed from 304 healthy adults (115 men, 189 women) aged 20 - 59. The self-administered questionnaire contained subject s habitual diet and alcohol intake were the previous 3 months. Data on frequency of 102 foods, including vegetables, fruits, beverages and legumes were analyzed. Total dietary carotenoids intake were 27.13 $\pm$ 3.09 mg/d for men and 26.71$\pm$ 2.82 mg/d for women. It was found that smoking had no significant contribution to the dietary intake of carotenoids. Among other lifestyle factors that had significant correlation was the amount of exercise time. The increases in exercise time was associated with increase in carotenoids intake (r= 0.121, p : 0.04). The major contributors of $\alpha$-carotene and $\beta$-carotene were carrots consumed as single-food item or carrot juice. Lutein and Zeaxanthin intake mainly came from spinach and most lycopene intake was derived from tomato products not fresh tomatoes. Persimmon was the major contributor of $\beta$-cryptoxanthin. These findings provide valuable information on understanding the unique pattern of dietary intake of Korean, which might help identify the risks for developing various diseases.