Prevalence and trends in obesity among Korean children and adolescents in 1997 and 2005

Abstract

Purpose : The objective of this study was to provide current estimates of the prevalence and examine trends of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. Methods : Height and weight measurements from 183,159 (112,974 in 1997, 70,185 in 2005) children and adolescents aged 2 to 18 years were obtained via the 1997 and 2005 National Growth Survey. Obesity among children and adolescents was defined as being at or above the 95th percentile of the gender-specific body mass index (BMI) for age in the 2007 Korean National Growth Charts or a BMI of 25 or higher; overweight was defined as being at or above the 85th percentile to less than the 95th percentile BMI. Results : In 2005, 9.7% (11.3% for boys, 8.0% for girls) of South Korean children and adolescents were obese; 19.0% (19.7% for boys, 18.2% for girls) were overweight or obese. The overall prevalence of obesity increased from 5.8% in 1997 to 9.7% in 2005 (from 6.1% in 1997 to 11.3% in 2005 for boys and from 5.5% in 1997 to 8.0% in 2005 for girls); the increasing trend was most evident in boys, especially those aged 13-18 years. Conclusion : The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents increased significantly during the eight-year period from 1997 to 2005. This study suggests that we need to make a priority of developing strategies to control obesity in children and adolescents; the potential health effects of increases in obesity are of considerable public health importance. (Korean J Pediatr 2008;51:950-955)

Secular trends in dietary patterns and obesity-related risk factors in Korean adolescents aged 10–19 years

“…Many studies have reported increasing secular trends in childhood and adolescent obesity around the world, which has become a growing public health concern. 16,[27][28][29] This increasing trend was found only in boys in this study, unlike the results of studies in western countries, 16,27,28 but was similar to a study in Chinese adolescents, 27 in which the author commented that Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; CI, confidence interval; HDL-C, high density lipoproteins-cholesterol; OR, odds ratio; Pct, percentile; serum TG, serum triglyceride (mg per 100 ml). a 2007 Korea Pediatric Growth Chart.…”

Age and sex interactions in gastric cancer incidence and mortality trends in Korea

“…Korea is also experiencing a decline in H. pylori, whose prevalence decreased from 59.4 % in 1995, 53.6 % in 2000 to 45.9 % in 2005 [21]. Some risk factors, such as consumption of sodium [22], drinking alcohol [17] and obesity [23][24][25], have increased overall in Korea. Daily consumption of vegetables and fruits, which are considered probable protective factors, has been increasing [17].…”

Irisin is a biomarker for metabolic syndrome in prepubertal children

“…WITH an increasing population of overweight and obese children, metabolic complications associated with being overweight/obese, such as insulin resistance, hypertension and dyslipidemia, have become a major public health concern [1]. The incidence of childhood metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is closely related to insulin resistance, is defined as a clustering of abdominal obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and glucose intolerance and is increasing around the world, including in Korea [2]. The clustering of metabolic risk factors begins in childhood [3], and these multiple risk factors tend to persist from childhood into adulthood [4].…”