Obesity Crisis in South Korea’s Military, Soldiers Battle Alarming Abdominal Obesity Rates

The result from the prevalence of abdominal obesity, based on waist circumference

The health status of Korean professional soldiers is shocking.

Recently, Yang Yun Young from the Department of Radiology at Eulji University Graduate School revealed the results of an analysis of the degree of abdominal obesity in soldiers.

According to the master’s thesis in Public Health, “Study on Obesity and Abdominal Obesity according to the Career of Korean Soldiers” (supervised by Professor Han Dong Kyun), the prevalence of abdominal obesity, based on waist circumference, was found to be 16.9% for enlisted soldiers and 48.27% for officers.

Also, the prevalence of abdominal obesity, based on the amount of visceral fat using abdominal CT images, was analyzed to be 18.3% for enlisted soldiers and 49.8% for officers.

 

The study subjects were 950 adult male soldiers (300 enlisted soldiers, 650 officers) who visited the Armed Forces Capital Hospital for abdominal CT scans and other tests from March to October 2022.

Soldiers with less than one year of service had a 4.2% lower body mass index and a decrease of 15.29% in total abdominal fat, 12.26% in visceral fat, and 16.62% in subcutaneous fat, compared to those with more than one year of service, using abdominal CT images.

The prevalence of obesity, abdominal obesity (waist circumference), and abdominal obesity (visceral fat) were 17.56%, 31.37%, and 31.5% higher in officers than in enlisted soldiers. Officers with less than ten years of service saw a 6.53% increase in body mass index and an increase of 11.22% in total abdominal fat and 29.49% in visceral fat compared to those with more than ten years of service, using abdominal CT images.

 

According to the National Health and Nutrition Survey, the prevalence of abdominal obesity in men aged 19 and above increased from 22.9% in 2012 to 43.9% in 2020. This study suggests that the level of abdominal obesity in military officers is more severe than that in adult men. The research team advised, “There is a need to strengthen the obesity management system for military officers and to operate obesity measures separately for enlisted soldiers and officers with different living environments.”