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One in 3 Korean adults overweight or obese
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Chet Wautlands



Joined: 11 Oct 2008

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 6:59 pm    Post subject: One in 3 Korean adults overweight or obese Reply with quote

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/10/23/200910230080.asp

I think we all saw this coming. But from what I've seen... they are doing MUCH better than where I'm from.
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fermentation



Joined: 22 Jun 2009

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 7:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I do think that many Korean men are chunky due to the lack of exercise and the amount of carbs and alcohol they consume. But they definitely aren't grotesquely fat like some Americans. I have only seen a couple Koreans who were fat enough for me to go, "Dayum."
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ekul



Joined: 04 Mar 2009
Location: [Mod Edit]

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 7:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Overweight scmoverweight. When I'm middle aged I'm looking forward to letting it hang out. If the headline was 1/3 Koreans obese then there would be a problem. It'd be great if it were still like the Tudor times where being a bit podgy was a sign of affluence.
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redaxe



Joined: 01 Dec 2008

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 7:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1 out of 3? I could believe it. In my team at work the ratio is 5 out of 5. Almost all the men in my office are at least a little pudgy, and many are what I would consider legitimately fat.

However, I haven't seen any that look like more than 250 pounds. They're just not that tall, and nobody's "morbidly obese." In the US I frequently see 300+ pounders, and a lot of those are women! Shocked
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thurst



Joined: 08 Apr 2009
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

being overweight, or even obese in some circumstances, according to BMI is mostly meaningless. i'm 6'1 and 210-215 making my BMI around 28 so i'm overweight...yet i only have 16-17% body fat.

not saying that there aren't a lot korean fat asses out there, but there are almost definitely a good number of perfectly healthy people that are considered overweight.
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kg2095



Joined: 23 May 2009
Location: Hwaseong City

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:38 pm    Post subject: Re: One in 3 Korean adults overweight or obese Reply with quote

Chet Wautlands wrote:
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/10/23/200910230080.asp

I think we all saw this coming. But from what I've seen... they are doing MUCH better than where I'm from.


The situation in Korea seems similar to that in Australia 20 years ago (Australian obesity is similar to US).

I wonder what it will be like here in 20 years?
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redaxe



Joined: 01 Dec 2008

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thurst wrote:
being overweight, or even obese in some circumstances, according to BMI is mostly meaningless. i'm 6'1 and 210-215 making my BMI around 28 so i'm overweight...yet i only have 16-17% body fat.


Yes, you are overweight, but a lot of it is probably muscle if your body fat is what you say it is.

BMI is not terribly meaningful when applied to a single person, but when you generalize it for a whole population it becomes pretty indicative of the overall rate of obesity. And I don't think many of those 1 out of 3 overweight Korean men are overweight because they have huge, bulging muscles...
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steveinincheon



Joined: 14 Jul 2009
Location: in The Shadows of Gyeyangsan

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are a fair number of slightly chubby ajeossis, but the only really fat people I see here are young kids. While the overall obesity rate here is much lower than in the West, I'm not sure the childhood obesity rate is all that different. I'd have to imagine that in another 10-20 years Koreans will be nearly as fat as Westerners are now. Also obesity supposedly occurs at a lower BMI for Asians than for Caucasians.
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proopser



Joined: 20 Oct 2009
Location: Gunsan

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is junkfood readily available in Korea or what? Is it like the US where more things are unhealthy than are healthy?
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redaxe



Joined: 01 Dec 2008

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

proopser wrote:
Is junkfood readily available in Korea or what? Is it like the US where more things are unhealthy than are healthy?


Yes, junk food is readily available here. It's pretty easy to stuff yourself with crap here if you want to.

Depends on your definition of "healthy" but I'd say Koreans eat a lot healthier than Americans on balance. Their diet is pretty low in fat, with rice, lean meat, soybeans, and pickled vegetables the main sources of calories. The men drink a lot more alcohol though. And some eat a lot of samgyupsal (fatty pork) or fried chicken when they drink, too.
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Teddycakes21



Joined: 18 Oct 2009

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

redaxe wrote:
thurst wrote:
being overweight, or even obese in some circumstances, according to BMI is mostly meaningless. i'm 6'1 and 210-215 making my BMI around 28 so i'm overweight...yet i only have 16-17% body fat.


Yes, you are overweight, but a lot of it is probably muscle if your body fat is what you say it is.

BMI is not terribly meaningful when applied to a single person, but when you generalize it for a whole population it becomes pretty indicative of the overall rate of obesity. And I don't think many of those 1 out of 3 overweight Korean men are overweight because they have huge, bulging muscles...


I've only seen a few Koreans exercising in 18 months, and they were dressed up in their expensive workout clothes (which look really funny on their weird bodies) to go for a soft walk.
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thurst



Joined: 08 Apr 2009
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

steveinincheon wrote:
There are a fair number of slightly chubby ajeossis, but the only really fat people I see here are young kids. While the overall obesity rate here is much lower than in the West, I'm not sure the childhood obesity rate is all that different. I'd have to imagine that in another 10-20 years Koreans will be nearly as fat as Westerners are now. Also obesity supposedly occurs at a lower BMI for Asians than for Caucasians.


i disagree. the japanese have been prosperous and exposed to western diets longer than koreans and their obesity rates are nowhere near the west's.
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steveinincheon



Joined: 14 Jul 2009
Location: in The Shadows of Gyeyangsan

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

But when Japan first was exposed to Western food, the West had a relatively lower obesity rate. Korea is being exposed to the Western diet at a time when the Western diet has gone overboard with empty calories. I don't think Korea is in any danger of catching up with the US, but I teach more than my share of fat elementary students and see young Koreans everywhere eating large amounts of pizza and fast food.
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fermentation



Joined: 22 Jun 2009

PostPosted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 12:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am seeing a lot more fat little Korean kids these days. It's worse for them since they don't have pee wee football or baseball like American kids. PE classes in Korea are a joke.
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redaxe



Joined: 01 Dec 2008

PostPosted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 1:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

fermentation wrote:
I am seeing a lot more fat little Korean kids these days. It's worse for them since they don't have pee wee football or baseball like American kids. PE classes in Korea are a joke.


Good call. This country definitely needs fewer academic hagwons and more after-school sports clubs.
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