Amid the Spread of COVID-19... Personal Hygiene ↑, Physical Activity ↓

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens' physical activity decreased, while personal hygiene practices such as handwashing after going out significantly improved.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) held the '2020 Community Health Survey Progress Report and Quality Management Evaluation Conference' online on the 2nd and announced the main results of the '2020 Community Health Survey' reflecting these findings.

The Community Health Survey is conducted annually from August to October since 2008, based on the Regional Health Act, by 255 public health centers nationwide. Each health center surveys a sample of about 900 residents aged 19 and older to assess the health status of local residents. The survey produces health statistics at the city, county, and district levels and comparative statistics between regions, serving as basic data for establishing and implementing regional health care plans.

A notable finding in this survey is the significant improvement in personal hygiene. Last year, the rates of handwashing after going out and the use of soap or hand sanitizers increased by about 12 percentage points compared to the previous year, reaching 97.6% and 93.2%, respectively. Regional disparities also greatly decreased, with handwashing gaps narrowing by 34.0 percentage points and soap/hand sanitizer usage gaps by 26.7 percentage points.

On the other hand, physical activity was found to have declined. The 'walking practice rate,' defined as walking at least 30 minutes a day for five or more days in the past week, dropped by 3.0 percentage points from the previous year to 37.4%. The 'moderate or higher physical activity practice rate,' defined as engaging in vigorous physical activity for at least 20 minutes a day three or more times a week or moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day five or more days a week, also decreased by 4.9 percentage points to 19.8% compared to the previous year.

Both smoking and drinking rates declined compared to the previous year. Among those who have smoked more than five packs in their lifetime, the proportion currently smoking?the 'current smoking rate'?continued its downward trend since 2009 and fell to 19.8% last year, marking the first time it dropped into the 10% range. The current use rate of e-cigarettes among men also decreased, with 2.3% for liquid-type and 4.9% for heated tobacco products, down 2.5 and 1.8 percentage points respectively from the previous year.

Alcohol consumption also decreased. The 'monthly drinking rate,' defined as drinking alcohol at least once a month in the past year, was 54.7%, down 5.2 percentage points from the previous year. The 'high-risk drinking rate,' defined as drinking seven or more drinks (or five cans of beer) per occasion for men and five or more drinks (or three cans of beer) for women at least twice a week over the past year, also declined by 3.2 percentage points to 10.9%.

Mental health and obesity indicators all showed unfavorable trends.

Regarding mental health, the proportion of people who experienced depressive feelings (such as sadness or despair) severe enough to interfere with daily life for two or more consecutive weeks last year was 5.7%, similar to 5.5% in 2019. The 'stress recognition rate,' which measures the proportion of people who feel 'very much' or 'a lot' of stress in daily life, was 26.2% last year, meaning more than one in four citizens experienced high stress.

The 'self-reported obesity rate,' defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher, was 31.3% last year, an increase of 2.7 percentage points compared to 2017.

The awareness rates of early symptoms of cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke and myocardial infarction were 57.5% and 50.6%, respectively, remaining at about half and showing no improvement.

Jung Eun-kyung, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, stated, “While personal hygiene practices such as handwashing and health behaviors like smoking and drinking have improved, physical activity and mental health have worsened.” She emphasized, “In particular, regional disparities in health behavior indicators such as smoking and drinking rates remain significant, and policies and projects aimed at identifying and resolving these causes must continue to be promoted.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.