'The prevalence of obesity at level 1 or higher, male 35-39 years old''Best'Women are highest at 70-74
Aug 07, 2024
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In this issue, using sample cohort data provided by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), adults who underwent a national general health examination from 2018 to 2019 conducted by the National Health Insurance Corporation were targeted.
Overall, the prevalence of obesity in adults is on the rise, but it shows different trends depending on age or gender. Obesity in adults is defined as a body mass index of 25 kg/㎡ or more, and specifically, it corresponds to stage 1 obesity. In the case of men, the prevalence of obesity increases with age from their 20s, and more than one in two people showed the highest prevalence of obesity from 35 to 39 years old to 53.4%, and then decreases with age. On the other hand, in the case of women, the prevalence of obesity was low in their 20s and 30s, and then gradually increased after their 40s, with the highest prevalence of obesity at 44.6% in the 70s and 74s.
In adults, the body mass index of 30kg/m2 or higher is defined as obesity at level 2 or higher, and the body mass index of less than 18.5kg/m2 is defined as underweight. Similar to the prevalence of obesity at level 2 or higher, the prevalence of obesity at level 2 or higher was the highest at 30 to 34 years old in men and 12.5% in women at 70 to 74 years old. On the other hand, in the case of underweight, the percentage was the highest at the high age (5.5%) of men over 80 years old and at the low age (13.4%) of women between 20 and 24 years old.
Overall, the prevalence of chronic diseases also increased with increasing age, with the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and fatty liver disease being all markedly higher, especially in the case of obesity.
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes and hypertension was 1.9 times higher on average in the obese group than in the non-obese group, respectively, and the difference in the prevalence of chronic diseases was the largest in all 50 to 54 years of age. The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia was also 1.4 to 1.5 times higher in obese people compared to non-obese people, and both men and women showed the highest prevalence difference at 52 years of age.
In the case of fatty liver disease, the prevalence of the disease showed the greatest difference between the obese and non-obese groups, with a prevalence of 2.8 times higher in obese men and 8.4 times higher in obese women. For men, the difference between the prevalence (77.6%) and the prevalence (13.8%) of the obese group showed the largest difference at up to 63.8%, and for women over 80 years of age, the difference between the prevalence (67.7%) and the prevalence (11.1%) of the obese group was the largest at 56.6%.
Obesity is a chronic disease that affects about 17 million adults in Korea, increasing the risk of 200 complications, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, fatty liver, and cardiovascular diseases, and causing enormous socioeconomic losses than drinking and smoking, which are known as major health risk factors. Obesity has limitations in solving it only with individual will and lifestyle interventions.
Park Chul-young, chairman of the Korean Society of Obesity, said "In order to treat obesity effectively, diet and exercise should be consistently combined with the proper use of obesity drugs."As new mechanisms of anti-obesity drugs are being developed recently, we hope that the expansion of obesity treatment benefits will provide opportunities for obese patients facing limitations in weight management to more actively consider various medical interventions such as drug treatment.
The Korean Society of Obesity plans to hold an international academic conference, ICOMES 2024, at the Conrad Seoul Hotel from September 5 to 7, and a health insurance policy symposium to pay for obesity treatment on Thursday, September 5.
bellho@sportschosun.com
