The average height of high school first-year male students in South Korea is 172.9 cm, while that of female students is 161.3 cm… One in three students is obese.

Last year, the average height of high school first-year male students in South Korea was 172.9 cm, and for female students, it was 161.3 cm.

On the 29th, the Ministry of Education released the '2024 Student Health Examination Sample Statistics Results' containing this information. This statistic analyzes the results of physical development and health screenings conducted at 1,076 nationally selected elementary, middle, and high schools.

Looking at the height development situation by grade level, the average height for male students in the first grade of elementary school was 122.5 cm, in the fourth grade of elementary school was 140.5 cm, in the first grade of middle school was 161.5 cm, and in the first grade of high school was 172.9 cm.

For female students, the average height was 121.0 cm in the first grade of elementary school, 139.7 cm in the fourth grade of elementary school, 157.5 cm in the first grade of middle school, and 161.3 cm in the first grade of high school.

The average height of male students decreased slightly across all ages compared to the previous year, while the average height of female students remained at a similar level.

The obesity rate among students has declined for three consecutive years, but vision and oral health have worsened.

In terms of weight, male students weighed an average of 25.3 kg in the first grade of elementary school, 39.2 kg in the fourth grade of elementary school, 56.1 kg in the first grade of middle school, and 70.0 kg in the first grade of high school.

For female students, the average weight was 24.2 kg in the first grade of elementary school, 35.8 kg in the fourth grade of elementary school, 50.3 kg in the first grade of middle school, and 56.9 kg in the first grade of high school.

The average weight of male students in the first grade of middle school decreased by 1 kg compared to last year, while the weight of male students in the first grade of high school increased by 0.7 kg.

The weight of female students in the fourth grade of elementary school and the first grade of middle school decreased slightly.

The proportion of students classified as obese was 29.3%, showing a consistent decrease for three consecutive years. By educational level, high school had the highest rate at 30.8%, followed by elementary school at 29.4% and middle school at 27.5%.

Regionally, the obesity rate among students in rural areas was 33.1%, which was 4.5 percentage points higher than that of urban students (28.6%). However, this regional gap decreased by 1.2 percentage points compared to the previous year (5.7 percentage points).

One in four obese students has elevated triglyceride levels.

The vision and oral health status of students have worsened.

The proportion of students with vision problems was 57.04%, an increase of 1.05 percentage points from last year. Vision problems refer to cases where students are either wearing glasses or have unaided vision below 0.7 in either eye.

According to the dental examination results, the proportion of students with cavities was 18.70%, which is an increase of 1.43 percentage points from the previous year (17.27%).

Among students identified as obese in the fourth grade, first grade of middle school, and first grade of high school, the results of blood tests showed the percentage of students with abnormalities in total cholesterol at 16.37%, triglycerides (TG) at 26.76%, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol at 12.93%, which were similar to the previous year.

The Ministry of Education plans to release the report on the analysis results of the 2024 Student Health Examination Sample Statistics on the Student Health Information Center website in the fourth week of next month.

These examination results will serve as a basis for evidence regarding students' physical development and health status and will be utilized as foundational data for formulating future student health promotion policies.

Image source: Reference photo for understanding the article / gettyimagesbank