Research
Energy balance
Korean adults should be diagnosed with obesity at a BMI ≥25 kg/m², which is lower than the standard Western cutoff of 30 kg/m², due to higher body fat percentage and increased mortality risk at lower BMIs in Asian populations.
If you are Korean, your 'obese' label starts at a BMI of 25, not 30. This is not to shame you, but because your body stores fat differently and faces higher health risks at lower weights. Use this lower threshold to catch health issues like high blood pressure or blood sugar earlier.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Consequently, for the Korean population, we defined overweight based on an increase in morbidity and obesity based on an increase in mortality: overweight is defined as a BMI of 23 to 24.9 kg/m2 and obesity as a BMI ≥25 kg/m2.
Why this rating
Based on large prospective cohort studies (1 million+ Koreans) cited in the text.
Source
2014 Clinical Practice Guidelines for Overweight and Obesity in Korea
Mee Kyoung Kim et al. · Endocrinology and Metabolism · 2014
DOI 10.3803/enm.2014.29.4.405
clinical_guidelineCited 321×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Initial weight loss goal of 5-10% within 6 months via caloric restriction (1200-1500 kcal/day for women, 1500-1800 kcal/day for men) and moderate aerobic/resistance exercise is the standard lifestyle intervention for obesity management.Good
- Pharmacotherapy (e.g., Orlistat) is recommended as an adjunct to lifestyle intervention for patients with BMI >25 (or >23 with comorbidities) who fail to achieve initial goals, but must be discontinued if <5-10% weight loss is achieved after 3 months.Good
- Bariatric surgery is an appropriate option for Asian adults with BMI >35 kg/m² (with or without comorbidities) or >40 kg/m² (without comorbidities) who fail behavioral treatment.Good
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