Jeju is fat

Jeju Island has a clean air, plenty of fresh seafood and Olle trails. One might think that those who live on the island are healthy, but the truth is that they are heavy. A research team led by Oh Sang-woo, professor at Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, analyzed 15 million pieces of big data in health offered by the National Health Insurance Service, and found that Jeju residents had the largest waist circumference of 81.8 centimeters in Korea. They were two centimeters bigger than their counterparts in Gwangju (79.9 centimeters) and their body mass index (BMI) was the highest of 24.3.

Jeju has the largest share of double income households in Korea or 61.5 percent of its households. The team found that as children spend a lot of time without their parents at home, they often end up eating high-caloric fast food, which is the cause of obesity. Another important cause is lack of public transportation such as buses or subways due to the geographical nature: an island. People used to walk in the past when there was no bus. Today, they easily get a car even for a short distance.

Not all islanders are obese. Hawaii has the lowest obesity ratio among U.S. states following Colorado. Okinawa is the opposite. Only 30 years ago, the Japanese island used to have the largest share of people who are over 100 years old and the longest average life expectancy. Now, its obesity rate among its population is twice the number of those on the main island. This is due to the change in their diet. In the past, those who lived in Okinawa used to eat fish, beans, seaweeds and vegetables. Since the presence of the U.S. troops, however, fast food has spread fast. It had the very first McDonald store in Japan.

In Korea, Ulsan had the lowest markedly severe obesity ratio in Korea followed by Daegu and Gwangju. In the U.S., New Yorkers are generally thinner than their counterparts in other states. The New York Times said, “They have to walk in New York.” Those in the drama Sex and the City walk and walk, navigating through the woods of buildings in Manhattan. Despite a clean environment without fine dust, the core of healthy life is a diet and an exercise. Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong might have to come up with a program encouraging losing weight and walking to correct the tainted reputation as the island of the fat. Okinawa has already adopted this program.

정성희기자 shchung@donga.com