Body image one of several worrying health indicators for school-age children, survey finds
Published: 29 Apr. 2026, 07:00
Updated: 29 Apr. 2026, 11:34
![A high school student weighs herself on a scale in this AI-generated image. [CHATGPT]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/04/29/4b406765-c45a-4eb4-afc9-fccfccc36a59.jpg)
A high school student weighs herself on a scale in this AI-generated image. [CHATGPT]
More than one in 10 school-age Koreans believe their body weight falls outside the normal range, according to a government study released Monday that points to troubling physical and mental health disparities among young people.
Concerns over body image and weight management appeared to grow compared to last year, particularly among teenage girls, according to the report, which was based on the government’s 2025 student health survey.
The study analyzed physical development data from more than 92,000 students at 1,131 schools nationwide, along with detailed health checkups for a subset of about 32,500 students.
Among first-year high school girls, 4.34 percent said they had taken medication to lose weight — up from 4.02 percent the previous year and more than three times the rate among boys of the same age.
Across all school levels, the share of students who had used such medication rose with age, from 0.43 percent in elementary school to 2.77 percent in high school.
Between 13 and 15 percent of students were found to misperceive their own body weight, describing themselves as overweight or underweight despite falling within a normal range.
The share of students classified as overweight or obese stood at 29.7 percent, largely unchanged from 29.3 percent a year earlier. However, students in rural areas recorded a higher rate of 33.2 percent compared to 29 percent in urban areas.
Officials said the gap reflects differences in access to sports facilities and after-school activities.
“Students in rural and fishing communities tend to have fewer opportunities for physical activity due to limited infrastructure,” an official at a provincial education office told the JoongAng Ilbo. “There is a need to improve local environments for diet and exercise.”
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The report showed other troubling signs regarding students’ health, particularly their vision.
Almost 60 percent of elementary, middle and high school students last year reported eyesight below 0.7 out of 2 in at least one eye. The figure marks a 1.21 percentage point increase from a year earlier and extends a steady upward trend since 2022.
Eyesight appears to deteriorate as children aged, with roughly three out of four first-year high school students reporting subpar vision compared to just 30.41 percent of first-grade elementary school students.
Experts have long pointed to screen time as a key driver of deteriorating eyesight among students. A team led by Kim Young-kuk, a professor of ophthalmology at Seoul National University, found that each additional hour spent looking at digital screens increased the risk of developing myopia by 21 percent.
“The most effective prevention is increasing time spent outdoors and limiting near-distance work,” Kim said.
Meanwhile, 6.2 percent of first-year high school boys said they had accessed pornographic or adult websites, compared with 3.15 percent of first-year middle school boys.
The ministry’s study also showed that 9.73 percent of first graders exhibited signs of inattention, while 7.01 percent showed hyperactive behavior, with boys roughly twice as likely as girls to display such traits.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder affects between 3 and 8 percent of school-age children and is significantly more common in boys, according to data from Asan Medical Center.
By contrast, basic physical indicators such as height and weight have remained largely unchanged over the past five years. The average height of first-year high school boys was 173.0 centimeters, with girls averaging 161.3 centimeters — figures nearly identical to those recorded a year earlier.
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.
BY LEE HOO-YEON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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