Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome

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Korean J Obes 2012; 21(4): 228-235

Published online December 30, 2012

Copyright © Korean Society for the Study of Obesity.

Changes in Prevalence of Obesity and Underweight among Korean Children and Adolescents: 1998-2008

Ki Eun Kim, Shin Hye Kim(1), Sangshin Park(2), Young-Ho Khang(3), Mi Jung Park(1).*

Department of Pediatrics, CHA Gangnam Medical Center, CHA University, Seoul, Korea, Department of Pediatrics, Sanggye Paik Hospital, Inje University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea(1), Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA(2), Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea(3)

Received: June 17, 2012; Reviewed : July 30, 2012; Accepted: November 1, 2012

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate changes in prevalence of obesity and underweight [weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference] among Korean children and adolescents.
Methods: We analyzed the data of 2,820 subjects aged 10-18 years (1,478 boys and 1,342 girls) from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys conducted in 1998 and 2008.
Results: Over the study period, mean values of body weight, BMI and waist circumference were significantly increased in boys; however no significant change was observed in girls. The proportion of overweight (1998 vs 2008; 6.3% vs 14.7%) and obese boys (1998 vs 2008; 4.7% vs 8.2%) were increased, while the prevalence of boys with normal weight was decreased (1998 vs 2008; 82.8% vs 71.4%). No significant difference in the prevalences of normal weight, overweight and obese girls was seen over the study period, however an increasing trend in prevalence of underweight was observed in elementary school girls at the beginning of puberty (1998 vs 2008; 4.8% vs 9.4%).
Conclusions: Increasing obesity prevalence in teenaged boys, and emergence of nderweight in girls at the beginning of puberty were observed among Korean children and adolescents. Age and gender targeted measures to prevent obesity and underweight are warranted in health policies for Korean youth.

Keywords: obesity, Body mass Index, adolescents

Fig. 1. Changes of weight, Body Mass Index, and waist circumference by gender and age among Korean Children and Adolescents aged 10-18 (Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data in 1998 and 2008).
Fig. 2.

Body Mass Index distribution by gender among Korean children and adolescents aged 10-18 (Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data in 1998 and 2008).

BMI < 5th; underweight, ≥ 5th and < 85th; normal weight, ≥ 85th and < 95th; overweight, ≥ 95th; obesity.


Fig. 3.

Gender- and age-specific distributions of Body Mass Index among Korean children and adolescents aged 10-18 (Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data in 1998 and 2008).

BMI < 5th; underweight, ≥ 5th and < 85th; normal weight, ≥ 85th and < 95th; overweight, ≥ 95th; obesity.



Weight, Body Mass Index and waist circumference by gender and age among Korean children and adolescents aged 10~18 (Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data in 1998 and 2008)



Body Mass Index distributions by gender and age among Korean children and adolescents aged 10~18 (Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data in 1998 and 2008)


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