Korea's Obesity/Overweight Rates for Children and Adolescents, Higher Than China, Japan, and Taiwan
Dec 11, 2024
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A joint research team led by Professor Hong Yong-hee of the Department of Pediatrics at Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Park Soo-jin of the Health Economics Laboratory at Korea University's School of Health Sciences, Dr. Seol A-ram of the Korea Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, and Professor Lee Yoon of the Department of Pediatrics at Korea University Anam Hospital used data on the obesity rate of children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 in four East Asian countries, including Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan, from 2010 to 2022, and used trend analysis to confirm changes in obesity prevalence.
As a result, the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents in four East Asian countries has steadily increased over the past 12 years, and as of 2022, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Korean children and adolescents was the highest among the four countries, with 43.0% for boys and 24.6% for girls. In addition, as a result of the prevalence analysis by weight group (underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity), the underweight and normal weight groups in China and Japan decreased, but the overweight and obese groups increased. In Korea and Taiwan, the normal weight group and the overweight group decreased, but the underweight group and the obese group increased, decreasing the proportion of normal weight children and adolescents, and the gap and polarization between weight groups were increasing. In particular, the normal weight ratio of Korean children and adolescents was 55.0% for male students and 73.3% for female students, which was significantly lower than that of China, Japan and Taiwan, confirming that a red flag was turned on for the health of children and adolescents in Korea.
In particular, the researchers said that active intervention and intervention for those aged 10 to 11 is necessary, as the prevalence of overweight and obesity in all four East Asian countries was the highest.
Professor Hong Yong-hee said, "The increase in obesity among children and adolescents leads to complications such as high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, and diabetes, increasing the burden of chronic diseases in our society. Not only obesity but also underweight can have negative consequences for the health of children and adolescents, so attention should be paid to the reduction of the normal weight group, an indicator directly related to the health of children and adolescents in Korea.
Professor Lee Yun said, `We are more concerned about the health of children and adolescents in Korea than China, Japan, and Taiwan, which have similar physical conditions to ours. In response, he emphasized that it is time for a review of related policies and the attention and effort of experts.
The study was published in the November issue of the SCIE-level global professional journal 'PLOS ONE (IF: 2.9)' under the title 'Changes in Weight Distribution and Trends in Obesity among East Asian Children and Adolescents: Insights from NCD Risk Factors Collaboration Data'.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
