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 has increased while physical activity has decreased, indicating a deterioration in health behaviors. For those in middle age, the burden of chronic conditions such as obesity, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia has also grown.

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 (KDCA) released the main findings of the "2025 National Health and Nutrition Survey." The National Health and Nutrition Survey is an annual government study conducted to assess the health and nutritional status of the Korean population.

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 an increase of 0.3 percentage points for men and 1.7 percentage points for women. By age group, the rate increased by 3.7 percentage points among men in their 20s, by 2.6 percentage points among women in their 20s, and by 6.4 percentage points among women in their 30s.

Among women in their 30s, the usage rates for traditional cigarettes, liquid-type e-cigarettes, and heated tobacco products all rose. The rate for traditional cigarettes increased by 3.6 percentage points, for liquid-type e-cigarettes by 3.1 percentage points, and for heated tobacco products by 1.1 percentage points.

Indicators related to alcohol consumption showed partial improvement. The high-risk drinking rate dropped by 1.0 percentage point to 12.6% overall, while the monthly binge drinking rate also declined to 35.1% for both men and women. Specifically, the monthly binge drinking rate among men in their 20s decreased by 8.0 percentage points, and among women in their 20s and 30s fell by 6.2 percentage points and 7.3 percentage points, respectively.

Physical activity declines and fat intake rises among Millennials & Gen Z

Physical activity, however, continued to decline. The aerobic physical activity compliance rate was 49.5%, a decrease of 2.0 percentage points for men and 3.2 percentage points for women compared to the previous year. Among men in their 20s, the rate dropped sharply by 11.2 percentage points, and among women in their 20s and 30s, it decreased by 7.6 percentage points and 8.3 percentage points, respectively. The rates of strength training and walking also declined across the board.

In terms of dietary habits, the proportion of energy derived from carbohydrates continued to fall, while fat intake continued to increase. Last year, energy from fats made up 28.7% for both men and women. Among those in their 20s and 30s, the share of energy coming from fats exceeded the upper limit of the recommended nutritional intake standard of 30% for both genders.

Vegetable consumption also dropped. Only 23.4% of men and 17.7% of women consumed at least 500 grams of fruits and vegetables daily. In particular, the rates among those in their 20s were the lowest among adults, at 10.6% for men and 7.5% for women.

Obesity rate among men in their 30s reaches 59%... increase in chronic conditions among middle-aged adults

Indicators for body weight and chronic diseases worsened, especially among middle-aged adults. The prevalence of obesity among men was 49.1%, about the same as last year, but there were sharp spikes of 9.9 percentage points among those in their 30s and 5.9 percentage points among those in their 50s. Obesity prevalence among men in their 30s was 59.0%, 53.3% for those in their 40s, and 54.0% for those in their 50s, meaning that more than half of men in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are obese.

Among women, the prevalence of obesity rose by 2.5 percentage points year-on-year to 28.7%, with increases of 3.7 percentage points among those in their 30s and 5.9 percentage points among those in their 40s.

The prevalence of hypertension was found to be 28.2% among men and 17.8% among women. For hypercholesterolemia, the prevalence was 26.1% in men and 22.4% in women. Compared to the previous year, men saw an increase in hypertension of 1.9 percentage points and an increase in hypercholesterolemia of 2.7 percentage points. The KDCA explained that the prevalence of chronic diseases has shown an increasing trend over the past decade among men in their 40s and 50s.

Underweight issues stood out among young women. The overall prevalence rate of underweight for women was 9.5%, and among women in their 20s it was 19.9%, equivalent to one in every five women in this age group.

Women in their 30s report highest rates of loneliness

This year's survey also released, for the first time, key indicators of social health such as perceived social support, life satisfaction, and feelings of loneliness.

The rate of respondents who said they have someone to rely on—termed the "social support rate"—was 94.5%, but it decreased with age. Among those in their 20s, the rate was 98.6%, while it fell to 87.8% for those aged 70 and older. Subjective life satisfaction averaged 6.9 points out of 10. The proportion of people reporting low life satisfaction was notably higher among those in their 20s, 30s, and 70s or older.

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

Lee Seungkwan, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, stated, "Among people in their 20s and 30s, improvements in alcohol consumption were observed; however, usage of tobacco products and fat intake increased. For those in their 40s and 50s, the prevalence of obesity and chronic diseases increased." He added that the health behaviors and chronic diseases that require targeted management differ by age group.

Meanwhile, the KDCA plans to provide additional public data regarding indicators such as social support, loneliness, and sugar intake—which were introduced last year. The agency explained that it will continue to develop and present outcome indicators that can serve as a basis for setting health policies tailored to societal structural changes, such as population aging and the increase of single-person households.

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