Distribution and Correlates of Obesity in a Korean Rural People

Park, Jong Ku; Koh, Sang Baek; Kang, Myung Gun; Kim, Jin Baek; Hyun, Sook Jung; Hong, Ju Hee; Park, Jun Ho; Chang, Sei Jin

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
The aim of present study was to assess the distribution and correlates of obesity in a Korean rural people using both body mass index(BMI) and body fat percent.
METHODS
A total of 1,243 participants were recruited using a two-staged stratified sampling. A structured questionnaire was used to ask their sociodemographics (gender, age, marital status, educational background, and etc.) and health-related behaviors (smoking, drinking, and regular exercise etc.). The data of weight-for height, and body fat percent were also collected by physical examination. For the estimation and analysis of correlates of obesity, we used BMI(>or=25kg/m2) and body fat percent(male>or=25%, female>or=30) as a cut-point of obesity. All analyses were stratified to three age groups(>20, 20-39, 40>or=).
RESULTS
The prevalence of obesity in this study was higher than that in previous studies. This study showed that 32.6% (male: 33.7%, female: 31.7%) of participants according to BMI, and 45.6% (male: 43.8%, female: 47.4%) of them according to body fat percent were obese group. Logistic regression analysis showed that, in the criteria of BMI, while obesity was associated with female and low educational background under the age of 40, prevalence of obesity was higher in non smokers over the age of 40. In case of body fat percent crteria, single(unmarried, divorced, separated, widowed) were more likely to be obese in male aged 20 to 39 years. In the group aged 40 years and over, risk of obesity was higher in female than in male.
CONCLUSION
This result suggests that obesity is common in Korean rural areas, especially among adolescents and female aged 40 years or over, and the risk factors for obesity were different by age. It is required that health management program focusing on obesity and its adverse outcomes should be developed in a community setting.