The number of Koreans determined seriously or extremely obese nearly doubled in a little over a decade with the number of people found to be underweight also growing significantly, a report showed Wednesday.
According to the report by Prof. Oh Sang-woo of Seoul's Dongguk University, the portion of the country's entire population with obesity has remained steady since 2001, coming to 31.5 percent in 2010.
However, the proportion of people with extreme obesity jumped from 2.4 percent in 1998 to 4.2 percent in 2010 with that of the male population rising from 1.7 percent to 3.7 percent and females from 3 percent to 4.6 percent over the cited period.
A person is diagnosed with obesity when his/her body mass index (BMI) measurement exceeds 25 kilograms per square meter and with extreme obesity when BMI measurement exceeds 30 kg/㎡. BMI measurements are obtained by dividing a person's body mass or weight by the square of the person's height.
While the proportion of obese population increased, females found to be underweight also showed a significant growth over the cited period, according to the report, which was commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The proportion of underweight people among the entire population of both males and females, again, remained steady over the 12-year period, ranging from 4.6 percent to 5.1 percent. But the proportion of underweight people among all females in their 20s surged 5.4 percentage points from 1998 to 17.8 percent in 2010, with the proportion of underweight population among all females in their 30s also gaining 4.2 percentage points to 8.3 percent.
Such weight problems are associated with large social costs in both medical expenses and productivity declines.
"Efforts to reduce obesity levels must be accompanied by eating the right diet, abstinence from smoking or drinking and physical activities," a ministry official said. "In addition, a change of view on weight is needed for people as being underweight or obese can lead to various illnesses, such as osteoporosis." (Yonhap)