Where Have All the 'Finished Today's Workout' MZs Gone?... 6 Out of 10 Men in Their 30s Are Obese

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Announces 2025 National Health and Nutrition Survey Results

59% Obesity Rate Among Men in Their 30s... Up 9.9 Percentage Points in One Year

Increase in Chronic Diseases Such as Obesity and Hyperten

Among people in their 20s and 30s, tobacco use is on the rise while physical activity is decreasing, signaling a deterioration in health behaviors. For middle-aged adults, the burden of chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia has increased.

Young people exercising at a gym. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Photo by Getty Images

On September 30, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced the main results of the "2025 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey." The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey is an annual national survey conducted to assess the health and nutritional status of Koreans.

Last year, the current tobacco product usage rate was 36.3% for men and 8.6% for women. Compared to the previous year, this was a 0.3 percentage point increase for men and a 1.7 percentage point increase for women. By age group, the rate for men in their 20s rose by 3.7 percentage points, for women in their 20s by 2.6 percentage points, and for women in their 30s by 6.4 percentage points.

For women in their 30s, usage rates increased for all types of cigarettes: conventional cigarettes, liquid-type electronic cigarettes, and heated tobacco products. The usage rate for conventional cigarettes increased by 3.6 percentage points, liquid-type electronic cigarettes by 3.1 percentage points, and heated tobacco products by 1.1 percentage points.

Some drinking indicators improved. The high-risk drinking rate decreased by 1.0 percentage point to 12.6% overall, while the monthly binge drinking rate declined to 35.1% among both men and women. Among men in their 20s, the monthly binge drinking rate dropped by 8.0 percentage points, while the rates for women in their 20s and 30s decreased by 6.2 percentage points and 7.3 percentage points, respectively.

2030 Generation: Less Exercise, Higher Fat Intake

However, physical activity decreased overall. The aerobic physical activity practice rate declined to 49.5%, with decreases of 2.0 percentage points for men and 3.2 percentage points for women compared to the previous year. Men in their 20s saw a sharp drop of 11.2 percentage points, while women in their 20s and 30s saw their rates fall by 7.6 percentage points and 8.3 percentage points, respectively. The rates of practicing muscle-strengthening exercises and walking also declined for all groups.

In terms of dietary habits, the ratio of carbohydrate intake continued to decrease, while the ratio of fat intake increased. Last year, the proportion of energy intake from fat was 28.7% for both men and women. Among people in their 20s and 30s, the proportion of energy from fat exceeded 30%—the upper limit recommended in nutritional guidelines—for both men and women.

Vegetable intake also decreased. The proportion of people who consumed at least 500g of fruits and vegetables per day was 23.4% for men and 17.7% for women. In particular, intake was lowest among adults in their 20s, at 10.6% for men and 7.5% for women.

59% Obesity Rate Among Men in Their 30s... Increased Chronic Diseases in Middle Age

Body weight and chronic disease indicators worsened, especially among the middle-aged. The obesity prevalence rate for men was 49.1%, similar to the previous year, but there were sharp increases of 9.9 percentage points among men in their 30s and 5.9 percentage points among those in their 50s. The obesity prevalence rate for men in their 30s was 59.0%, for those in their 40s 53.3%, and for those in their 50s 54.0%, meaning it exceeded half for all age groups in their 30s to 50s.

The obesity prevalence rate for women was also 28.7%, up by 2.5 percentage points from the previous year. Notably, the rates for women in their 30s and 40s rose by 3.7 percentage points and 5.9 percentage points, respectively.

The prevalence of hypertension was 28.2% for men and 17.8% for women, while the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia was 26.1% for men and 22.4% for women. Compared to the previous year, men saw a 1.9 percentage point increase in hypertension and a 2.7 percentage point increase in hypercholesterolemia. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency explained that the prevalence of chronic diseases among men in their 40s and 50s has been rising over the past decade.

The issue of being underweight was pronounced among young women. The overall prevalence of being underweight for women was 9.5%, and among women in their 20s, the rate was 19.9%, which is equivalent to one in five.

Highest Loneliness Rate Among Women in Their 30s

This year’s survey released, for the first time, social health indicators such as social support, life satisfaction, and loneliness.

The 'social support rate,' defined as the percentage of respondents who said they had someone to turn to for help, was 94.5%, but it tended to decrease as age increased. The rate was 98.6% for people in their 20s, but only 87.8% for those aged 70 and above. The average subjective life satisfaction score was 6.9 out of 10. The proportion of people with low life satisfaction was relatively high among people in their 20s and 30s and those aged 70 and above.

The overall rate of experiencing loneliness was 6.4%—5.3% for men and 7.5% for women. The rate peaked among women in their 30s, at 9.7%. Higher income levels were associated with higher social support and life satisfaction and lower rates of experiencing loneliness.

Seungkwan Lim, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, stated, "For people in their 20s and 30s, while drinking behaviors improved, the use of tobacco products and fat intake increased. For people in their 40s and 50s, the prevalence rates of obesity and chronic diseases rose. This emphasizes that the health behaviors and chronic diseases requiring targeted management vary by age group."

Meanwhile, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency plans to publish additional indicators, such as social support, loneliness, and sugar intake rates, which were first introduced last year. The agency also intends to continue developing outcome indicators that can serve as a basis for health policy, in order to respond to health issues arising from structural changes in society, such as population aging and the increase in single-person households.

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