Korean Job Discussion Forums

[World Traveler]

Did you become fatter or thinner since living in Korea?

I suspect if most were honest, they would answer fatter.

So why is that? Isn't Korean food supposed to be healthier than Western food?

Nearly every lifer I meet is significantly overweight.

Is it more due to drinking or white rice?

I'm thinking Koreans might be better able to metabolize simple carbs. So many of them drink a lot and eat a lot of white rice, yet the average Korean is a lot less overweight than the typical middle aged English teacher living in Korea.

[Hokie21]

I lost quite a bit of weight while living in Korea....about 30 pounds actually and I wasn't that big of a guy to begin with. I walked a lot there and led a pretty active lifestyle which def helped. Regarding diet I ate lots of soups/stews and veggies. Whenever they would give me a side of rice I would eat maybe half of it.

But I agree with your observation, most of the westerners I encountered gained weight while over there. I'm thinking it was due mostly to rice and booze....esp the booze.

[PRagic]

I've fluctuated, especially when studying full time (read: sitting on my arse too much), but by-and-large living here makes it easier to stay within the bounds of a reasonable weight limit compared to if we lived in the US.

At least it seems like that to me. Tough to say as any time I go back, we're on vacation so everyone wants to power feed us.

I lost a ton of weight when I first moved over, but I was in my 20s, working a lot, and had a better metabolism! Now that I'm pushing 50 and married, we eat home a lot so the crap food is not in the picture.

Plus, and in this I agree with Hokie 21, city living means we walk a LOT more than the typical American in the burbs. Don't suck back the beers like I used to, either.

[Lazio]

Where is: "no significant change"?

[Fallacy]

[yodanole]

One thing is, back home, if you are 5'10" and weigh 350 lbs, you can look around and say "Hey, I'm a lean, mean, twerking machine!"

Here, if you are 6' 2" and 220 lbs, you look around and think "Oh my God, I'm a big, fat slob "

A matter of perspective;
https://spiritualartwork.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/all-about-perspective.jpg

[SeoulNate]

About the same for the last 8-9 years. Every year or two I go through the same 10-ish lbs cycle.

[young_clinton]

Junk food in Korea is abundant, easy to obtain, is cheap and tastes good.

[young_clinton]

[World Traveler]

Actually, it is:
http://www.healthdiscovery.net/links/calculators/ideal_bw_men.htm
Fifty pounds over.
Perhaps you consider yourself "big boned"?

[The Cosmic Hum]

[ghostrider]

I have definitely gained fat- about 30 pounds. I attribute it to feeling bored and miserable much of the time and turning to eating and drinking as an escape. I don't buy all the GI hype about simple carbs. A calorie is a calorie. If you eat more calories than you burn off you'll gain weight.

[World Traveler]

[World Traveler]

[The Cosmic Hum]