Gangdong District Wins Innovation Award at Korea Healthy City Awards for Childhood Obesity Prevention

19% Decrease in Childhood Obesity Rate Among Gangdong District Elementary Students Over Three Years

Gangdong District in Seoul (District Mayor Lee Soohee) announced on September 18 that it received the "Innovation Award" at the "10th Korea Healthy City Awards 2025," organized by the Korea Healthy Cities Partnership.

Scene from the joint awareness campaign for preventing childhood obesity. Provided by Gangdong District.

The Korea Healthy City Awards are held annually by the Korea Healthy Cities Partnership to recognize cities that have taken the lead in promoting public health and advancing health equity. At this event, Gangdong District was honored for its "Non-Discriminatory, Customized Childhood Obesity Prevention Project," which has been consistently implemented since 2016.

To advance this initiative, the district enacted the nation’s first ordinance on childhood obesity prevention in 2017 and has operated programs tailored to children and adolescents, such as "Active Classroom, Healthy School," "Healthy Care Playground," and "Health Camp."

As a result, over the past three years, the obesity rate among elementary school students in Gangdong District has decreased by 19%, demonstrating tangible outcomes of the district’s childhood obesity prevention policy. Notably, the daily vegetable consumption rate among elementary students participating in the "Active Classroom, Healthy School" program reached 35.8%, far exceeding the national average of 24.99%. In addition to these achievements, the district received high marks for introducing customized healthy environments, repeated educational sessions, and challenges for children with disabilities, based on surveys conducted in special schools.

With this latest award, Gangdong District has now been recognized four times in the past five years-having won the Grand Prize in 2022, the Excellence Award in 2021, and the Merit Award in 2023-solidifying its status as a model for healthy city policies nationwide.

Lee Soohee, Mayor of Gangdong District, stated, "This recognition reflects the nationwide acknowledgment of our childhood obesity prevention policies that prioritize health equity. We will continue to strengthen our healthy city policies so that all residents can practice healthy living in their daily lives and improve their quality of life."

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