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2009-04-12 14:04

S. Koreas Obesity Rate Lowest in OECD

South Korea has the lowest obesity rate among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a poll showed Sunday.

According to the OECD survey of people aged 15 or older in its 30 member nations taken from 2006-2008, South Korea's obesity rate was 3.5 percent, followed by Japan with 3.9 percent and Switzerland with 7.7 percent.

The United States had the highest overall obesity rate with 34.3 percent, trailed by Mexico with 30 percent and New Zealand with 25 percent, according to Yonhap News Agency.

By gender, South Korean women had the lowest obesity rate among the respondents, with U.S. women showing the highest rate. The obesity rate of South Korean men was 3.7 percent, the second-lowest among the countries polled.

By gender, the obesity rates of U.S. men and women were the highest.

Japan had the lowest levels of obesity and overweight, followed by South Korea and France.

According to the findings, South Koreans were less obese than Japanese, but their overweight rate was higher than that of Japanese.



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