New bill aims to introduce national obesity prevention and management system

A bill to prevent and manage obesity diseases systematically at the national level has been proposed.

Rep. Lee Joo-young of the Reform Party said Friday that she has introduced the bill for the “Act on the Prevention and Management of Obesity Diseases.”

Obesity is known to result in metabolic diseases, including diabetes and hyperlipidemia, which are caused by abnormalities in body metabolism, cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension and coronary artery disease, musculoskeletal diseases, and mental health, adversely affecting the entire human body.

It causes social costs and losses and has the potential to manifest itself throughout anyone's life cycle, constantly raising the need for systematic management and prevention at the national level.

According to the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity's 2024 fact sheet, the prevalence of obesity among adults in Korea increased from 30.6 percent in 2013 to 38.4 percent in 2022, and the prevalence of obesity among adult men in 2022 was 49.6 percent, which almost equals one in two.

The Act on the Prevention and Management of Obesity Diseases introduced by Rep. Lee requires the government to comprehensively establish and implement policies to prevent and manage obesity and obesity-related diseases. To do so, it stipulates that various projects, ranging from relevant surveys to research and development, prevention and management projects, and treatment support projects, can be carried out.

“Recent statistics clearly show that the disease of obesity poses a serious threat to public health,” Lee said. “If the law is enacted, the country will be able to systematically manage the obesity problem to reduce social costs and losses caused by obesity and protect public health from various diseases.”