Smoking and exercise down, drinking and obesity up

South Korea’s smoking incidence, which has been trending down since 2009, fell by 0.2 of a percentage point to 24.0 percent last year, according to a story in The Korea Herald, quoting a survey by the Ministry of Health and Welfare among 220,000 adults nation-wide.

At the same time, the smoking rate among men dropped by 0.5 of a percentage point from 45.8 percent to 45.3 percent.

But the rate of drinking among the country’s adults, which is based on those who drink at least once a month, rose to a record high of 60.8 percent last year, up from 59.5 percent in 2013

Drinking rates have been increasing since figures were first compiled by the ministry in 2008.

Obesity rates were up, too, from 24.5 percent in 2013 to 25.3 percent last year.

The only thing apart from smoking that trended down was the number of people taking exercise.

Those who took a 30 minute walk at least five times a week fell from 40.8 percent in 2013 to 37.5 percent last year.