Trends in Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Korean Adults, 1998^|^ndash;2009: The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Hee-Taik Kang,Yong-Jae Lee,Jae-Yong Shim,Byoung-Jin Park,John A Linton,Hye-Ree Lee

doi:10.2188/jea.je20130017

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough obesity is increasing worldwide and becoming a major public health problem, some countries report a trend toward stabilization. We investigated prevalence trends in overweight/obesity and obesity among Korean adults during a 12-year period.MethodsThis study was based on the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) I (1998), II (2001), III (2005), and IV (2007–2009). The χ2 and ANOVA tests were used to compare the prevalence and mean values for age and BMI, respectively. P-values for trends were determined by linear and logistic regression analyses, with KNHANES phase as the continuous variable.ResultsThe prevalences of overweight/obesity in KNHANES I through IV were 50.8%, 57.4%, 62.5%, and 62.6%, respectively, among men (P for trend = 0.002, β = 0.021) and 47.3%, 51.9%, 50.0%, and 48.9% among women (P for trend = 0.017, β = −0.015). The respective prevalences of obesity were 26.0%, 32.4%, 35.1%, and 36.3% among men (P for trend = 0.006, β = 0.018) and 26.5%, 29.3%, 28.0%, and 27.6% among women (P for trend = 0.143, β = −0.008). During the same period, the respective prevalences of grade 2 obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) were 1.7%, 2.8%, 3.6%, and 3.8% among men (P for trend = 0.075, β = 0.005) and 3.0%, 3.5%, 3.4%, and 4.0% among women (P for trend = 0.398, β = 0.003).ConclusionsThe prevalences of overweight/obesity and obesity showed an upward trend among men during the 12-year period, whereas the prevalence of overweight/obesity slightly decreased among women from 2001.

Highlights

Using data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) for the period 1998–2009, we investigated prevalence trends in overweight and obesity among Korean adults aged 20 years or older
Body mass index (BMI) increased among men across KNHANES phases (P-value ≤0.001 by 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA); P for trend
Similar to the trends in overweight/obesity prevalence, the overall prevalence of grade 1 obesity steadily increased among men (P-value = 0.034; P for trend = 0.006, β = 0.018), but the trend was not significant among women, it tended to decrease after KNHANES II (P-value = 0.331; P for trend = 0.143, β = −0.008; Figure 1B)

Summary

Introduction

Obesity is a global epidemic.[1,2] It is associated with numerous disorders, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, renal impairment, cancers, and cardiovascular diseases, which results in increased medical expenditures and substantial public health burdens.[3,4,5,6] several studies have predicted that obesity prevalence will increase sharply,[1,2] recent epidemiologic findings suggest that those reports overestimated future obesity prevalence.[7,8]Rapid socioeconomic development and industrialization in South Korea over the last several decades have resulted in considerable lifestyle changes, such as increased consumption of Western food and sedentary behavior with less physical activity. Results: The prevalences of overweight/obesity in KNHANES I through IV were 50.8%, 57.4%, 62.5%, and 62.6%, respectively, among men (P for trend = 0.002, β = 0.021) and 47.3%, 51.9%, 50.0%, and 48.9% among women (P for trend = 0.017, β = −0.015). The respective prevalences of grade 2 obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) were 1.7%, 2.8%, 3.6%, and 3.8% among men (P for trend = 0.075, β = 0.005) and 3.0%, 3.5%, 3.4%, and 4.0% among women (P for trend = 0.398, β = 0.003). Conclusions: The prevalences of overweight/obesity and obesity showed an upward trend among men during the 12-year period, whereas the prevalence of overweight/obesity slightly decreased among women from 2001

Methods

Results

Conclusion