Secular Trends in Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Weight Status Among South Korean Adolescents During 2017-2024.
Yunmin Han, Younghwan Choi, Sungjae Yoon and 3 others
PMID 42615271WHAT IT FOUND
Obesity rose from 10.0% to 12.4%, underweight from 6.9% to 7.5%, and physical activity guideline adherence remained low at 6.7% in 2024.
Screen time adherence fell to 19.2% in 2020 and recovered only to 24.5% in 2024.
Key findings
01Obesity prevalence rose from 10.0% in 2017 to 12.4% in 2024, with a statistically significant annual percent change of 2.9%.
02Underweight prevalence rose from 6.9% to 7.5% overall (annual percent change 3.0%) and from 6.4% to 8.7% among girls (annual percent change 6.7%).
03Physical activity guideline adherence rose from 5.2% to 6.7% (annual percent change 4.0%), but pooled adherence was 8.6% among boys and 2.4% among girls.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Height, weight, physical activity and sedentary behavior were self-reported, so recall or social desirability bias and BMI misclassification are possible. Guideline adherence was scored as yes or no, which can hide how close an adolescent was to meeting the recommendation and may misclassify some. The physical activity questions did not capture activity type, intensity beyond the threshold, duration or setting. Because different students were surveyed each year, the study cannot show that the pandemic caused the changes or follow individuals over time. The results are from Korean adolescents and may not transfer to other countries or clinical settings. Students with missing or implausible covariate data were excluded.
Declared interests
The authors report nothing to disclose and declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the rise in physical activity guideline adherence from 5.2% to 6.7% as evidence that adolescents are active or that the trend is clinically meaningful. Adherence remained very low, and the repeated cross-sectional design cannot show what caused the changes.