Higher incomes, slimmer bodies: Seocho has Seoul’s lowest obesity rate, Geumcheon the highest

[Financial News] The obesity rate in Geumcheon District in Seoul was found to be nearly twice that of Seocho District. When the scope is expanded to all 252 cities, counties, and districts nationwide, the gap between the areas with the highest and lowest obesity rates approaches 2.5 times. It is also notable that many of the areas with lower obesity rates are regions with higher income levels.
According to data on obesity rates among health insurance subscribers aged 20 and older, obtained on the 5th by People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker Kim Mee-ae of the Health and Welfare Committee of the National Assembly from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), the obesity rate in Geumcheon District in Seoul was 8.55% as of last year. This was the highest among Seoul’s 25 districts and was close to 1.8 times the rate in Seocho District, which had the lowest obesity rate in the city at 4.82%.
The obesity rate refers to the proportion of people with a Body Mass Index (BMI)—calculated as weight divided by height squared—of 30.0 or higher in the total population. Geumcheon District also had the highest share in Seoul of overweight residents, defined as those with a BMI of at least 25.0 but under 30.0, at 32.36%. The district with the lowest proportion of overweight residents in Seoul was Gangnam District, at 26.02%.
Nationwide, the area with the highest obesity rate was Ongjin County, Incheon, at 11.21%. This was about 2.5 times higher than Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, which had the lowest rate at 4.47%.
Among the top 10 areas with the highest obesity rates, nearly half were in Gangwon Province, including Yanggu County (10.33%), Hwacheon County (10.21%), Cheorwon County (10.13%), and Inje County (10.08%). In the greater Seoul area, Dongducheon-si in northern Gyeonggi Province also made the list with an obesity rate of 10.04%.
By contrast, the bottom 10 areas nationwide in terms of obesity rates were largely concentrated in higher-income parts of the greater Seoul area. These included Seocho District, Seoul’s Gangnam District (4.89%), Songpa District (5.70%), Yongsan District (5.82%), Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si (5.06%), and Suji District, Yongin-si (5.37%).
Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy (HALE) also differed in line with obesity rates. As of 2022, the highest income quintile (5th quintile) had a HALE of 72.7 years, while the lowest income quintile (1st quintile) recorded 64.3 years, a gap of 8.4 years. This disparity has widened from 8.1 years in 2018.
Kim Mee-ae said, "A national-level response is needed to address the reality that obesity rates can differ by more than twofold depending on where people live. The government should actively pursue region-specific, tailored health management policies."
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter