Increase in Adolescent Obesity and Deterioration of Eating Habits After COVID-19... Smoking and Drinking Decrease

KDCA Announces 'Gukmin Geongang Tonggye Plus' Status Report

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] Since the COVID-19 pandemic, smoking and drinking among adolescents have decreased, but obesity and dietary indicators have worsened.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced a report on the 29th that deeply analyzed changes in adolescent health behaviors before and after the COVID-19 outbreak using the Youth Health Behavior Survey.

According to the report, comparing the periods before the COVID-19 outbreak (2017?2019) and after the pandemic began (2020?2021), the current smoking rates among adolescents decreased across all genders and age groups. Among male middle school students, the rate dropped by 1.9 percentage points, and among high school students, by 4.1 percentage points. Female middle school students saw a decrease of 0.5 percentage points, and high school students decreased by 0.8 percentage points.

The current drinking rate declined even more sharply. During the same period, male middle school students decreased by 2.7 percentage points, and high school students by 7.4 percentage points. Female middle school students decreased by 2.1 percentage points, and high school students by 6.8 percentage points.

Both smoking and drinking rates in 2021, when the pandemic continued, were similar to those in 2020.

On the other hand, dietary indicators among adolescents worsened after the COVID-19 outbreak. The rate of skipping breakfast increased among all adolescents, with female high school students showing the largest increase of 5.4 percentage points. Fruit intake decreased the most among female middle school students, dropping by 4.6 percentage points.

Obesity rates also increased. Among male students, middle school students showed an increase of 4.4 percentage points, and high school students 2.7 percentage points, with the increase continuing during the first and second years of the pandemic.

Additionally, regardless of gender, all adolescents showed a tendency toward increased experiences of depression. Compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak, male students increased by 3.9 percentage points, and female students by 2.0 percentage points.

Baek Kyung-ran, commissioner of the KDCA, stated, "This newly published report is a very meaningful resource analyzing changes in adolescent health behaviors and related factors during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020," adding, "We plan to continuously produce statistics and conduct in-depth analyses necessary for evidence-based student health promotion policies during infectious disease outbreaks."

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