Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.
Less educated women more likely to be obese
By Lee Hyo-sik
The less educated Korean women are, the more likely they are to be overweight, according to an OECD health report.
In the report, which examined the worldwide obesity trend and projections across its member countries, the Paris-based organization said a large socio-economic imbalance in obesity exists in Korean women.
“Women with poor education are five times more likely than more educated women to be overweight,” it said.
In contrast, less-educated men did not show a high tendency toward obesity, it noted.
Korea’s obesity rate is staying at low levels in the OECD, but has been heading upward steadily over the years. “Currently, about 4 percent of the nation’s adult population is obese and about 30 percent are overweight (including obese),” it said.
The OECD expects overweight rates to steadily increase in the years to come due to Koreans’ changing eating habits and decreasing physical activity.
Child obesity rates are relatively high in Korea, particularly in boys, the organization said.
The OECD said children raised by obese parents are far more likely to be obese themselves, adding boys are about three times more likely to be obese and girls almost six times more likely, if they have at least one obese parent.
“Since the 1980s, obesity has spread at an alarming rate worldwide. Changes in food supply and eating habits, combined with a dramatic fall in physical activity, have made obesity a global epidemic,” it said.
Across OECD countries, one in two adults is currently overweight and one in six is obese, it said, adding that children have not been spared from the epidemic, with up to one in three being currently overweight.
“Obesity is a burden on health systems, with health care expenditure for an obese person at least 25 percent higher than for someone of normal weight. Cooperation between governments and the private sector is the key to success in combating obesity,” it said.
By Lee Hyo-sik
‘교육 덜 받은 여성 비만 가능성 높아’
OECD 건강 보고에 따르면, 교육을 덜 받은 여성일수록 비만 가능성이 높을 것 같다.
전 세계적인 비만 조사에서 OECD는 한국 여성들 사이에 비만상의 사회 경제적 불균형이 크다고 밝혔다.
이 기관은 “교육을 덜 받은 여성이 교육을 더 받은 여성들보다 비만 가능성이 5배나 높다”고 말했다.
대조적으로 교육을 덜 받은 남성들은 비만 성향이 높게 나타나지는 않았다고 덧붙였다.
OECD 국가 중 한국의 비만율은 아직 낮지만 계속 올라가고 있다.