Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion (보건교육건강증진학회지)

Korean Society for Health Education and Promotion (한국보건교육건강증진학회)
권호 표지

Rapidly Increasing Prevalence of Obesity and Their Confident Determinants in Korea

  • Lee, Jung-Su (Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo) ;
  • Kawakubo, Kiyoshi (Department of Food Sciences & Nutrition, Kyoritsu Women's University) ;
  • Park, Chun-Man (Department of Public Health, College of Natural Sciences, Keimyung University) ;
  • Akabayashi, Akira (Department of Biomedical Ethics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo)
  • Published : 2006.12.30
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Objectives: The 2003 WHO/FAO technical report described that Korea has largely maintained its traditional high-vegetable diet despite major social and economic changes, and had lower than expected levels of obesity prevalence than other industrialized countries. However, the prevalence of obesity in Korea has recently been rapidly increasing. The aim of this study was to elucidate the determinants of this rapid growth of obesity prevalence in Korea and to compare the results of national nutrition surveys between Korea and Japan. Methods: The trends of the National Health and Nutrition Survey in Korea instituted every 3 years and that in Japan conducted every year were compared. The results of obesity prevalence defined as more than 25 of the Body Mass Index, the percentage of habitual exercisers and the results of the nutritional surveys were examined from 1992 to 2005 in Korea and from 1992 to 2004 in Japan. Results: The prevalence of obesity in males has been gradually increasing in both Korea and Japan since 1992. Though until 1995 the prevalence of obesity in the Korean male population was less than that in Japan, after 1998 Korea surpassed Japan and a markedly increasing trend was observed. In females, the increasing trend of obesity was slower than males in both Korea and Japan. However, the prevalence of obesity was much higher in Korea compared with that in Japan. The percentage of exercisers was much lower in Korea than in Japan. Although, the definition of an exerciser varies with the survey year in Korea and is different from that in Japan, almost 70% of the population was not regularly engaging in moderate or hard intensity exercise in Korea. From 1995, the total energy intake was increased by 9.8% in Korea but it was decreased by 6.9% in Japan. Presently, the energy intake per capita per day in Korea exceeded that in Japan. Remarkable increases in the intake of meat and poultry, vegetable oils and fats, and milk and dairy products were observed in Korea from 1995 to 2005. On the other hand, these values decreased during the same period in Japan. Conclusion: The prevalence of obesity in Korea is increasing and has surpassed that of Japan. The current trends could be attributed to the low prevalence of habitual exercisers, and an increase in energy intake and the proportion of energy intake from fat.

Keywords

References

  1. Asturp AS, Raben TA, Skov AR. The role of low-fat diets and dat substitutes in body weight management: What have we learned from clinical studies?. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1997;97:S82-S87
  2. Bouchard C edt. Physical Activity and Obesity. Human Kinetics, USA, 2000
  3. Bourchard C, Despres JP, Tremblay A. Exercise and obesity. Obesity Research 1993;1:133-147 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1550-8528.1993.tb00603.x
  4. Bourchard C. Can obesity be prevented? Nutrition Review 1996;54;S125-S130
  5. Bourchard C. L'obesite est-elle une maladie genetique? Medicine Therapeutique 1998;4:283-289
  6. Bray GA, Bouchard C, James WPT eds. Hand Book of Obesity. New York: Marcel Dekker, 1997
  7. Bray GA, Popkin BM. Dietary fat intake does not affect obesity. AM J CLin Nutr 1998;68:1157-1173 https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/68.6.1157
  8. Egger G, Swinburn B. An 'etiological' approach to the obesity pandemic. BMJ 1997;315:477-480 https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.315.7106.477
  9. Foreyt JP, Carlos Poston WS. Diet, genetics, and obesity. Food Technology 1997;51:70-73
  10. French SA, Jeffery RW, Forster JL, McGovern PG, Kelder SH, Baxter JE. Predictors of weight change over two years among a population of working adults: the healthy worker project. Int J Obesity 1994;18:145-154
  11. Grundy SM. Multifactorial causation of obesity: implications for prevention. AM J Clin Nutr 1998;67:563S-572S https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/67.3.563S
  12. Haskell WL. Physical activity, sport, and health: toward the next century. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 1996;67:S37-47
  13. Heymsfield SB, Darby PC, Muhlheim LS, Gallagher D, Wolper C, Allison DB. The caloric myth, measurement, and reality. Am J Clin Nutr 1995;62:034S-1041S
  14. Higgins M, Kannel W, Garrison R, Pinsky J, Stokes J 3d. Hazards of obesity - the Framingham experience. Acta Med Scand Suppl 1988;723:23-26
  15. James WPT. A public health approach to the problem of obesity. Int J Obesity 1995;19:S37-S45
  16. Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The National Nutrition Survey in Japan, 1992, 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2004. Tokyo, Japan, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2006 (in Japanese)
  17. Kim SW, Moon SJ, Popkin BM. The nutrition transition in South Korea. Am J Clin Nutr 2002;71:44-53
  18. Klesges RC, Klesges LM, Haddock CK, Eck LH. A longitudinal analysis of the impact of dietary intake and physical activity on weight change in adults. Am J CLin Nutr 1992;55:818-822 https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/55.4.818
  19. Lee JS, Kawakubo K, Inoue S, Akabayashi A. Effect of 3-Adrenergic receptor gene polymorphism on body weight change in middle-aged, overweight women. Environ Health Prev Med 2006;11(3):69-74 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02898145
  20. Lee MJ, Popkin BM, Kim S. The unique aspects ofthe nutrition transition in South Korea: the retention of healthful elements in their traditional diet. Public Health Nutr 2002;5:197-203
  21. Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Hennekens CH, Willett WC. Body weight and longevity. JAMA 1987;257:353-358 https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.257.3.353
  22. National Institute of Health and National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults. the evidence report. Obesity Research 1998;Supple 2
  23. Pi-Sunyer FX. Medical hazards of obesity. Ann Intern Med 1993;119:655-660 https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-119-7_Part_2-199310011-00006
  24. Prentice AM, Jebb SA. Obesity in Britain: gluttony or sloth. BMJ 1995;11:437-439
  25. Prentice AM. Obesity-the inevitable penalty of civilization?. British Medical Bulletin 1997;53:229-237 https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a011610
  26. Republic of Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare. Report on 1992, 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2005 National Health and Nutrition Survey. Seoul, Republic of Korea, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2002 and 2006 (in Korean)
  27. Rissanen AM, Heliovaara M, Knekt P, Reunanen A, Aroma A. Determinants of weight gain and overweight in adult Finns. European Journal of Clin Nutr 1991;45:419-430
  28. Schoeller DA, Shay K, Kushner RF. How much physical activity is needed to minimize weight gain in previously obese women? AM J Clin Nutr 1997;66:551-556 https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/66.3.551
  29. Seidell JC. Dietary fat and obesity: an epidemiologic perspective. AM J CLin Nutr 1998;67:546S-550S https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/67.3.546S
  30. Stubbs RJ, Ritz P, Coward WA, Prentice AM. Covert manipulation of the ratio of dietary fat to carbohydrate and energy density: effect on food intake and energy balance in free-living men eating ad libitum. AM J CLin Nutr 1995;62:330-337 https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/62.2.330
  31. Thompson D, Wolf AM. The medical-care cost burden of obesity. Obes Rev 2001;2:189-197 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1467-789x.2001.00037.x
  32. Weinsier RL, Hunter GR, Heini AF, Goran MI, Sell SM. The etiology of obesity: relative contribution of metabolic factors, diet, and physical activity. AM J Med 1998;105:145-150 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9343(98)00190-9
  33. Willett WC. Is dietary fat a major determinant of body fat? AM J Clin Nutr 1998;67:556S-562S https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/67.3.556S
  34. Wolf AM, Coliditz GA. Current estimates of the economic cost of obesity in the Unites States. Obesity Research 1998;6:97-106 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1550-8528.1998.tb00322.x
  35. World Health Organization. Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. report of a joint WHO/FAO expert consultation. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2003 (WHO Technical Report Series, No. 916)
  36. World Health Organization. Obesity-Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic. Report of a WHO Consultation on Obesity. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1998