Seoul bucks obesity trend as app helps encourage healthier habits

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By Lee Kyung-min

• Published Jul 28, 2026 2:10 PM KST

Seoul is moving against the national tide on obesity, with city officials crediting a popular health app and expanding community fitness services helping residents become healthier even as obesity rates continue to rise across the country.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday that the city's adult obesity rate fell to 30.2 percent in 2025 from 31.0 percent a year earlier, marking the largest decline among the nation's 17 cities and provinces.

The findings were based on the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Community Health Survey.

The city also recorded the country's highest rates for walking, healthy lifestyle practices and efforts to manage body weight, according to the survey.

Officials said 69.0 percent of Seoul residents met the recommended walking target, compared with the national average of 49.2 percent.

The city's healthy lifestyle practice rate reached 54.3 percent, while 74.5 percent of residents said they had tried to control their weight during the past year.

Seoul said the improvements reflect expanded investments in personalized health programs, including the Sonmok Doctor 9988 mobile health platform and Seoul Fitness Center.

More than 2.93 million people now use the Sonmok Doctor 9988 app, which encourages users to monitor health indicators and build healthier daily habits.

An analysis comparing National Health Insurance Service health screening data from 2021 and 2023 found that app users had significantly lower rates of newly diagnosed diabetes and hypertension than nonusers, the city said.

Participants also showed greater improvements in waist circumference and blood sugar levels than people who did not use the service.

The city plans to introduce a weight management mode in the app later this year, allowing users to track body mass index, body fat percentage and other obesity-related indicators.

Seoul is also expanding its Seoul Fitness Center network from 19 locations to 52 through the addition of eight new centers and 25 artificial intelligence-powered fitness stations beginning in August.

Cho Young-chang, director general of the city's Public Health Bureau, said preventing obesity begins with making exercise and regular health monitoring part of everyday life.

"We will continue expanding personalized health management services centered on Sonmok Doctor 9988 and Seoul Fitness Center so citizens can manage their health close to home and work," Cho said.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.