Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res.
2017 Jun;17(2):62-65. 10.7704/kjhugr.2017.17.2.62.
Recent Epidemiological Changes in Korean Obesity
- Affiliations
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- 1Center for Obesity, Nutrition, and Metabolism, Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, Dongguk University College of Medicine, Goyang, Korea. osw6021@gmail.com
- 2Department of Family Medicine, Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, Dongguk University College of Medicine, Goyang, Korea.
- KMID: 2383582
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.7704/kjhugr.2017.17.2.62
Abstract
- In Korea, the prevalence of obesity as defined by body mass index(BMI) ≥25 kg/m² has been steady in the recent years; however, the prevalence of severe (BMI ≥30 kg/m²) and extreme obesity (BMI ≥35 kg/m²) has rapidly increased during the past decade. The change in the prevalence of abdominal obesity showed a similar trend to the prevalence of obesity. Based on the Korean data, the list of obesity-related diseases in Korea resembles those for the Western countries. The association between BMI and all-cause mortality in Koreans displayed a "˜U' or inverted "˜J' curve pattern. However, these curves have changed, and the BMI nadir of these curves exhibits a change to a higher BMI point during the past decades. Recent change in the obesity epidemic in Korea seems to resemble the previous changes in the obesity epidemics seen in the Western populations.
