By Lee Hyo-sik
Overweight elementary and secondary school students here are prevailing as more high-calorie fast food and less fruit and vegetables are part of eating habits. A lack of sleep and little exercise have also contributed to worsening Korean teenagers’ health, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Sunday.
It said 14.3 percent of students were overweight or obese last year, up from 14.25 percent in 2010 and 13.17 percent in 2009. The ministry surveyed 181,000 elementary, middle and high school students across the country in 2011.
Body mass index (BMI), a measurement which compares weight and height, defines people as overweight or pre-obese, if their BMI is between 20 and 30, and obese when it is over 30. Obesity is a condition in which excess body fat accumulates to the extent that it adversely affects health.
In particular, the ratio of students with a BMI over 50, who were classified as extremely obese, jumped to 1.26 percent in 2011, up from 0.83 percent in 2007 and 0.74 percent in 2011.
In contrast, 4.58 percent of those examined were found to be underweight last year as many female pupils are under pressure to diet. But the ratio dropped from 4.72 percent in 2010 and 5.6 percent in 2009.
The height of a male sixth-grader averaged 150.4 centimeters, up 0.16 centimeters from a year earlier and he weighed 45.98 kilograms, down 0.14 kilograms. The height of the average female sixth-grader was 151.12 centimeters, down 0.04 centimeters over the one-year period and she weighed 44.4 kilograms, down 0.04 kilograms.
“The average height and weight of Korean students has showed an upward curve over the years on improved nutrition. But the pace of the increase slowed recently and came to a virtual halt in 2011,” a ministry official said. “It seems that the current younger generation has reached an upper limit in physical growth”.
About 57.6 percent of students wore glasses last year, up from 47.7 percent in 2010 and 39.5 percent in 2001. Nearly 60 percent developed a cavity at least once in 2011, down from 61.5 percent the prior year.
The ministry also found that 68 percent of male high school students ate instant noodles, hamburgers and other fast foods as a meal more than once a week, up from 63.6 percent in 2010. But only 24.2 percent of them said they ate fruit and vegetables on a daily basis.
About 22.1 percent of high school students said they were engaged in intense physical activities more than three times a week. Over 43 percent of high school students indicated that they slept less than six hours a day.
The survey also found that 6 percent of examined elementary school students and 2.48 percent of high school students were bullied by their peers, down slightly from a year earlier. But the number of middle school students subject to school violence rose to 5.84 percent from 5.26 percent.