Smoking and Lack of Exercise Among People in Their 20s and 30s... Obesity and Chronic Diseases Raise Red Flags for Those in Their 40s and 50s

[Financial News] Health behaviors among people in their 20s and 30s have deteriorated, with smoking and fat intake increasing and physical activity declining. Among those in their 40s and 50s, obesity, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia showed notable increases.
 According to the 2025 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey released by the KDCA on the 30th, the current tobacco product use rate among people aged 19 and older was 36.3% for men and 8.6% for women, up 0.3 and 1.7 percentage points, respectively, from the previous year. The increases were particularly pronounced among men in their 20s, at 3.7 percentage points; women in their 20s, at 2.6 percentage points; and women in their 30s, at 6.4 percentage points.
 Drinking indicators, meanwhile, improved. The high-risk drinking rate fell by 1.0 percentage point to 12.6%, while the monthly binge-drinking rate also declined to 35.1%. The monthly binge-drinking rate fell by 8.0 percentage points among men in their 20s and by 6.2 and 7.3 percentage points among women in their 20s and 30s, respectively.
 Physical activity declined. The aerobic physical activity rate fell to 49.5%, down 2.0 percentage points among men and 3.2 percentage points among women from the previous year. The rate dropped particularly sharply among men in their 20s, by 11.2 percentage points, and among women in their 20s and 30s, by 7.6 and 8.3 percentage points, respectively.
 Imbalances also emerged in the diets of younger adults. As the proportion of energy intake from carbohydrates declined and the proportion from fat increased, the percentage of energy intake from fat exceeded the recommended upper limit of 30% among both men and women in their 20s and 30s. The proportion consuming at least 500 grams of fruit and vegetables per day was also the lowest among adults in their 20s, at 10.6% for men and 7.5% for women.
 Obesity and chronic diseases were significant concerns among middle-aged and older adults. The obesity rate among men was 49.1%, similar to the previous year, but it increased by 9.9 and 5.9 percentage points among men in their 30s and 50s, respectively. Obesity rates among men in their 30s, 40s and 50s all exceeded 50%. The obesity rate among women also rose by 2.5 percentage points to 28.7%, with particularly large increases among women in their 30s and 40s.
 The increase in chronic diseases was especially pronounced among men in their 50s. Compared with the previous year, the prevalence of diabetes rose by 7.7 percentage points, hypertension by 5.4 percentage points and hypercholesterolemia by 9.4 percentage points. Among men in their 40s, hypertension increased by 3.7 percentage points and hypercholesterolemia by 5.4 percentage points.
 The social support rate, introduced for the first time in this survey, was 94.5% and declined with age. Life satisfaction was measured at 6.9 out of 10, while the rate of experiencing loneliness was 6.4%. Women in their 30s reported the highest rate of experiencing loneliness, at 9.7%. Social support and life satisfaction tended to be higher among people with higher incomes, while loneliness tended to be less common as income increased.
 Lim Seung-kwan, head of the KDCA, said, "Although drinking improved among people in their 20s and 30s, tobacco product use and fat intake increased. Among those in their 40s and 50s, obesity and the prevalence of chronic diseases also rose. The findings show that the health behaviors and chronic diseases requiring focused attention differ by age group."
 The survey examined about 250 indicators, including health behaviors, nutrition and chronic diseases, among 4,800 households and approximately 10,000 people across 192 regions nationwide.


[email protected] Jung Sang-hee Reporter