A man measures his waist with a tape measure. More than half of Korean men in their 30s, 40s and 50s are obese, according to a government survey released Sept. 30.GETTY IMAGES
More than half of all Korean men in their 30s, 40s and 50s are obese, and the rate among men in their 30s is nearing 60 percent, a government survey showed.
The obesity rate among men aged 19 and older was 49.1 percent last year. The figure comes from the 2025 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey released on Wednesday by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The survey defines obesity as a body mass index of 25 or higher, 5 percent lower than the threshold set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Men in their 30s had the highest rate at 59 percent, followed by men in their 50s at 54 percent and men in their 40s at 53.3 percent.
The rates climbed quickly. The obesity rate for men in their 30s jumped 9.9 percentage points in a year, and the rate for men in their 50s rose 5.9 percentage points. The rate for all men rose only 0.3 percentage points. The increase was concentrated among men in their 30s and middle-aged men.
The obesity rate for women rose 2.5 percentage points to 28.7 percent, with increases of 3.7 percentage points among women in their 30s and 5.9 percentage points among women in their 40s. Women in their 20s, meanwhile, had the highest underweight rate at 19.9 percent.
Chronic disease indicators for middle-aged men also worsened. Among men in their 50s, the prevalence of diabetes rose 7.7 percentage points from a year earlier, high blood pressure 5.4 percentage points and high cholesterol 9.4 percentage points. Among men in their 40s, high blood pressure rose 3.7 percentage points and high cholesterol 5.4 percentage points.
An undated photo shows the sign of Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.YONHAP
Chronic disease rates among men in their 40s and 50s have trended upward over the past decade, the KDCA said.
Smoking has steadily declined but is rebounding among younger people. The share of people who currently smoke conventional cigarettes fell from 23.9 percent in 2016 to 17 percent last year, a 29 percent drop over the decade. Over the same period, the use of liquid e-cigarettes more than doubled, from 2.3 percent to 4.8 percent. The use of heated tobacco products rose from 6.2 percent in 2019 to 7.3 percent last year.
Tobacco product use among young people rose sharply last year. The rate climbed 3.7 percentage points from a year earlier among men in their 20s, 2.6 percentage points among women in their 20s and 6.4 percentage points among women in their 30s. Men in their 20s used both conventional cigarettes and liquid e-cigarettes more, while women in their 30s increased their use of conventional cigarettes, liquid e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products alike.
Liquid e-cigarettes and other vaping products are on display at an e-cigarette shop in Seoul on April 24, the day a ban on online sales of liquid e-cigarettes made from synthetic nicotine took effect.YONHAP
Young people drank less, however. The monthly binge drinking rate fell 8 percentage points among men in their 20s and 6.2 percentage points among women in their 20s.
The survey also reported a loneliness rate for the first time. Some 6.4 percent of respondents said they had experienced loneliness, with women in their 30s the highest at 9.7 percent.
The share of people who said they had someone to rely on or turn to for help in hard times stood at 94.5 percent. Respondents rated their life satisfaction at 6.9 out of 10 on average.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
