KCDC blames smoking, drinking, poor diet, no exercise for rising obesity

A report from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said Monday that almost one in two Korean adult males are obese, showing a steady increase since 2005.

The number of Koreans with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes also rose in tandem from a decade ago, KCDC said.

The national health survey showed more Korean men and women having chronic diseases. Men saw a rise in all four chronic conditions with 43 percent of Korean males being overweight, 35 percent with high blood pressure, 20 percent with high cholesterol, and 13 percent with diabetes.

Women saw a similar but lower increase with about 30 percent being obese, 23 percent having high blood pressure, 19 percent suffering high cholesterol and 10 percent having diabetes. The numbers indicated a general upward trend since 2005.

KCDC attributed the rise in chronic diseases across genders to smoking, drinking, lack of exercise, and poor diet.

Two out of every five Korean men (40 percent) were smoking last year, down around 10 percent since 2005, but still one of the highest rates in the world. Korea also topped the list of drinking category with more than 50 percent of men saying they drank more than seven beers in one sitting at least once a month. Drinking and smoking remain an integral part of the working culture in Korea.

The lack of exercise exacerbated the problem with only around 40 percent of Koreans saying they tried to walk at least 30 minutes a day, five times a week. The decline in exercise time was accompanied with poor dietary habits such as skipping breakfast and eating junk food, KCDC said.

Data showed that those in their 20s and 30s were the most likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, drinking, eating fast food and not exercising compared to other age brackets.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it would launch a preventive and maintenance system for chronic diseases and a government-run obesity management solution to encourage healthy habits and prevent chronic diseases.

“It is important to prevent chronic diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol by improving health habits,” a ministry official said. “We will establish a preventive and maintenance system for chronic diseases at first-tier hospitals and a solution to maintain obesity at the national level while making more no smoking areas, regulating advertisements and sales of cigarettes, and implement no-smoking policies not centered on price hikes.”

The ministry will also try to improve the efficiency of its health improvement programs for citizens, the official added.

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