By Han Sang-hee
Students of primary and secondary schools located in northern Seoul were found to be more obese than those in other areas, while those in the southern “Gangnam” area had the lowest rate of obesity, a survey showed Wednesday.
According to a report by Rep. Park Young-ah of the Grand National Party, in 64 schools among the 1,276 schools surveyed, obese students made up 20 percent of the total number of students.
The “heaviest” area was Gangseo-gu with eight schools, followed by Jung-gu (seven schools), Jongno-gu (six) and Seongbuk-gu (five).
On the contrary, nine schools with the lowest rate of obese students were located in Songpa-gu, making the southern district the “slimmest” area for schools.
Experts have pointed out the overall levels of interest parents have for their children as an important factor behind the statistics, along with parents with lower income having greater difficulty preventing their children from eating junk food.
“The physical education curriculum and countermeasures to obesity are similar at most schools. It seems that the results reflect the parents, such as how well they look after what their children eat and the number of times they eat junk food,” said an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government of Education.
Professor Kang Dae-hee from the department of preventive medicine at Seoul National University’s college of Medicine added that this data shows how social status can impact obesity.
“This is not something that can be solved only by the schools and parents. The government should also implement appropriate measures to help students keep in shape also on their own,” he said.
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