South Koreans, especially those in their 20s and 30s, face a greater risk of obesity, data showed Monday, reflecting unhealthy eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle.

The National Health Insurance Corp. said the proportion of people with the highest obesity risk, or “morbid obesity rate,” jumped from 0.2 percent in 2002 to 0.5 percent in 2013, suggesting that the number of people with serious obesity problems is on the rise.

Morbid obesity refers to a BMI index of 40 or higher, while a normal BMI ranges from 19-25. BMI stands for Body Mass Index, a measure of body size based on height and weight.

According to some health data compiled by the NHIC over the cited period, men in their 20s and women in their 30s showed the highest morbid obesity rates in 2013, 0.94 percent and 0.69 percent, respectively. This was up sharply from 2002 levels.

Groups aged 60 and older witnessed a slightly higher morbid obesity rate of 1.4 percent in 2013.

By regions, farming and fishing villages showed a higher morbid obesity rate of 0.47 percent, compared to small cities with 0.46 percent and metropolitan cities with 0.42 percent.

Professor Oh Sang-woo of Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital said, “Social and cultural habits such as eating fast food and sedentary culture are associated negatively with health, while increasing the risk of becoming overweight and obesity.”

“Since obesity is a health and social issue, we need to come up with measures to fight and control the severe and morbid obesity rates in adolescents,” he added.

In August this year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said more than one-third of the nation’s adult population was overweight, and it cost the nation about 12 trillion won ($11.8 billion) annually to treat 23 obesity-related diseases here.

By Kim Da-sol, Intern reporter
(dasolkim@heraldcorp.com)