The average weight of 19-year-old Korean men rose nearly 4 kilograms over a decade, and the obesity rate increased by about 8 percentage points. The Military Manpower Administration (MMA) announced Friday it designated the health indicators for 19-year-old Korean men as official national statistics and will publish the data annually. The statistics are based on conscription medical exam data from all 19-year-old Korean men and cover 24 indicators, including body mass index, blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides, liver function, complete blood counts and mental health. Men born in 1996 weighed an average of 69.44 kilograms at age 19, while those born in 2006 weighed 73.37 kilograms, marking an increase of 3.93 kilograms. The weight gains were disproportionate: The heaviest 10 percent gained an average of 7.8 kilograms, compared with just 0.6 kilograms among the lightest 10 percent. The share classified as obese, defined as a body mass index of 25 or higher, rose from 23 percent to 31 percent, while the share of those at a normal weight fell from 49 percent to 41 percent
