J Korean Med Sci.  2010 Nov;25(11):1582-1588. 10.3346/jkms.2010.25.11.1582.

Trends in General and Abdominal Obesity among Korean Adults: Findings from 1998, 2001, 2005, and 2007 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys

• Khang YH
• Yun SC

• KMID: 1779227
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2010.25.11.1582

Abstract

We examined trends in obesity among Korean adults, using body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) as reported in national surveys. Data (10,043 men and 12,758 non-pregnant women) were derived from four waves of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 1998, 2001, 2005, and 2007. Between 1998 and 2007, the distribution of BMI and WC showed shifts toward the right among men. Mean values of BMI and WC and the corresponding overweight (includes obesity) and obesity prevalences showed increasing trends in men but not in women. Women aged 60+ showed significant increases in obesity measures, including mean BMI and WC, and the associated prevalences. Among women aged 20-39, the prevalence of underweight increased significantly between 1998 and 2007, and BMI showed a decreasing tendency. These time trends in young women were the reverse of the trends in young men. In conclusion, policy efforts to abate overweight and obesity trends need to be exercised among men and older women. In addition, more national studies regarding potential increases in underweight among young women are warranted.

Keyword

Asia; Body Mass Index; Korea; Obesity; Overweight; Thinness; Waist Circumference

MeSH Terms

Adult
Body Mass Index
Data Collection
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Nutrition Assessment
Obesity, Abdominal/*epidemiology
Overweight
Regression Analysis
Republic of Korea
Thinness/epidemiology
Waist Circumference

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Changes in the distribution of body mass index (kg/m2) and waist circumference (cm) between 1998 and 2007 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data among men and women aged 20+.

• 

  Fig. 2 Estimated 85th percentiles, 50th percentiles (medians) and 15th percentiles of body mass index (kg/m2) and waist circumference (cm) by age among men and women aged 20+ who participated in 1998 and 2007 Korea Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: Results of quantile regression analysis.

Reference

1. World Health Organization. Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic: Report on a WHO Consultation (WHO Technical Report Series 894). 2000. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.

2. Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, McDowell MA, Tabak CJ, Flegal KM. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, 1999-2004. JAMA. 2006. 295:1549–1555.

3. Li C, Ford ES, McGuire LC, Mokdad AH. Increasing trends in waist circumference and abdominal obesity among US adults. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007. 15:216–224.

4. Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity and Extreme Obesity among Adults: United States, Trends 1960-62 through 2005-2006. National Center for Health Statistics. accessed on 20 October 2009. Available at http://origin.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/overweight/overweight_adult.htm.

5. Katzmarzyk PT. The Canadian obesity epidemic: an historical perspective. Obes Res. 2002. 10:666–674.

6. Matsushita Y, Yoshiike N, Kaneda F, Yoshita K, Takimoto H. Trends in childhood obesity in Japan over the last 25 years from the national nutrition survey. Obes Res. 2004. 12:205–214.

7. Wang H, Du S, Zhai F, Popkin BM. Trends in the distribution of body mass index among Chinese adults, aged 20-45 years (1989-2000). Int J Obes (Lond). 2007. 31:272–278.

8. Wildman RP, Gu D, Muntner P, Wu X, Reynolds K, Duan X, Chen CS, Huang G, Bazzano LA, He J. Trends in overweight and obesity in Chinese adults: between 1991 and 1999-2000. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2008. 16:1448–1453.

9. Yoshiike N, Seino F, Tajima S, Arai Y, Kawano M, Furuhata T, Inoue S. Twenty-year changes in the prevalence of overweight in Japanese adults: the National Nutrition Survey 1976-95. Obes Rev. 2002. 3:183–190.

10. Kim DM, Ahn CW, Nam SY. Prevalence of obesity in Korea. Obes Rev. 2005. 6:117–121.

11. Park HS, Park CY, Oh SW, Yoo HJ. Prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome in Korean adults. Obes Rev. 2008. 9:104–107.

12. Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. KCDC (Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention). accessed on 20 October 2009. Available at http://knhanes.cdc.go.kr/.

13. National Institute of Health. Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults. The evidence report. National Institute of Health. Obes Res. 1998. 6:Suppl 2. 51S–209S.

14. WHO Expert Consultation. Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies. Lancet. 2004. 363:157–163.

15. Alberti KG, Eckel RH, Grundy SM, Zimmet PZ, Cleeman JI, Donato KA, Fruchart JC, James WP, Loria CM, Smith SC Jr. International Diabetes Federation Task Force on Epidemiology and Prevention. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. American Heart Association. World Heart Federation. International Atherosclerosis Society. International Association for the Study of Obesity. Harmonizing the metabolic syndrome: a joint interim statement of the International Diabetes Federation Task Force on Epidemiology and Prevention; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; American Heart Association; World Heart Federation; International Atherosclerosis Society; and International Association for the Study of Obesity. Circulation. 2009. 120:1640–1645.

16. Lee SY, Park HS, Kim DJ, Han JH, Kim SM, Cho GJ, Kim DY, Kwon HS, Kim SR, Lee CB, Oh SJ, Park CY, Yoo HJ. Appropriate waist circumference cutoff points for central obesity in Korean adults. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2007. 75:72–80.

17. Koenker R. Quantile Regression. 2005. New York: Cambridge University Press.

18. Yu Z, Nissinen A, Vartiainen E, Song G, Guo Z, Tian H. Changes in cardiovascular risk factors in different socioeconomic groups: seven year trends in a Chinese urban population. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2000. 54:692–696.

19. Jee SH, Sull JW, Park J, Lee SY, Ohrr H, Guallar E, Samet JM. Body-mass index and mortality in Korean men and women. N Engl J Med. 2006. 355:779–787.

20. Naeye RL. Maternal body weight and pregnancy outcome. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990. 52:273–279.

21. Spinillo A, Capuzzo E, Piazzi G, Ferrari A, Morales V, Di Mario M. Risk for spontaneous preterm delivery by combined body mass index and gestational weight gain patterns. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1998. 77:32–36.

22. Bhattacharya S, Campbell DM, Liston WA, Bhattacharya S. Effect of body mass index on pregnancy outcomes in nulliparous women delivering singleton babies. BMC Public Health. 2007. 7:168.

23. Sebire NJ, Jolly M, Harris J, Regan L, Robinson S. Is maternal underweight really a risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcome? A population based study in London. BJOG. 2001. 108:61–66.

24. Wardle J, Haase AM, Steptoe A. Body image and weight control in young adults: international comparisons in university students from 22 countries. Int J Obes (Lond). 2006. 30:644–651.

25. Stamatakis E, Wardle J, Cole TJ. Childhood obesity and overweight prevalence trends in England: evidence for growing socioeconomic disparities. Int J Obes (Lond). 2010. 34:41–47.

26. Khang YH, Park MJ. Trends in obesity among Korean children using four different criteria. Int J Pediatr Obes. (Doi:10.3109/17477166.2010.490270).