By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter

Korea is up in arms against obesity ― something that has only recently been recognized as a disease here.

Schools are busy setting up afterschool diet programs, and many companies and government agencies are gearing up to help people shed more pounds.

According to government research, 31.7 percent of adults over 19 years old in Korea are classified as obese (often confused with overweight), exceeding a body mass index (BMI) of 25. The figure compares to that of 26 percent 10 years ago.

Children are no exception - separate research by Child Fund Korea showed 10.9 percent of elementary schools are obese.

Health authorities assume a change in diet ― from a conventional vegetable-and-grain one to a meat-and-instant-food one ― to be the main cause.

Obesity could become a serious social issue since it is linked with critical health problems such as hypertension, diabetes, and other chronic diseases and their complications.

The U.S. government is spending more than $10 billion a year on obesity related disease treatment. The World Health Organization presumes 60 percent of all disease and 73 percent of all deaths could be linked to obesity by 2020.

The Korean Education Ministry has designated 32 elementary, middle and high schools nationwide to run diet classes.

The programs include daily weight training, running, various aerobics, stretching and diet control courses. Yudeok Middle School in Gwangju reported that 30 participants managed to lose an average of five kilograms, or 93 percent of their body fat.

"If proven effective, we are planning to expand the program to more schools. This will show that schools will share the responsibility for students' health status," an education ministry official said.

Abbott Korea is giving bonus holidays to "the biggest loser." Many other companies are providing similar incentives. By becoming healthier and slimmer, employees can be more efficient at work, too, the company spokesman reportedly said.

However, there is skepticism toward the new diet

According to an OECD report, merely 3.5 women out of 1,000 here are obese, compared to 34.3 in the United States and 30 in Mexico. The OECD defines those over a BMI of 30 as obese.

However, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put a BMI of 18.5 to 25 as the optimal weight, a BMI lower than 18.5 as underweight and a number above 25 as obese. They explain that at a BMI above 25, the human body starts to become vulnerable to various diseases.

Still, some say society's infatuation with weight misleads even healthy people to stress over their body. From diets such as the Danish diet and Atkins diet to pills, patches, massage boutiques and cosmetic surgery, the diet market here is figured to be worth around 10 trillion won and is growing every year.

According to research by Prof. Kim Mi-ok of Daegu Health College, 47.5 percent of 101 female university students surveyed said they were fat, yet, only 4 percent turned out to be obese. About 86 percent said they need to lose weight.

"It seems that people do not perceive themselves as accurately as they should. While most of them are extremely normal, people are more anxious about their weight than ever," Kim said. She said eating healthy foods, doing regular exercise, sleeping well and keeping a good posture was far more important than looking model skinny.

bjs@koreatimes.co.kr