Korean traditional cuisine, “hansik.” (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans have been consuming less and less energy over the past seven years, and of all calorie consumption carbohydrates have dropped in proportion while fat increased, a government report confirmed Sunday.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA)’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed that each South Korean over 1 year of age consumed 1,859 kilocalories (kcal) each day as of last year.
Each male consumed 2,129 kcal, compared to 1,576 calories for females.
Daily energy consumption has been shrinking each year since 2015 (2,103 kcal). Compared to last year, each male consumed 58kcal less, while female caloric consumption dropped by 24kcal.
The proportion of calories derived from carbohydrates dropped from 64.9 percent in 2012 to 59.4 percent in 2021.
In contrast, calories from fat grew from 20.4 percent to 24.6 percent during the same period.
The energy gained from protein grew from 15.1 percent in 2012 to 16.4 percent in 2021 for men, and from 14.4 percent to 15.5 percent for women.
The rising trend of low-carbohydrate and high-fat energy consumption in the past 10 years shows that South Korea now depends less on rice and other crops, with increasing consumption of meat, the KDCA said.
Vegetable consumption also decreased from 283.9 grams to 245.2 grams in the past 10 years. Fruit consumption, too, dropped from 172.3 grams to 116 grams in the same period.
The proportion of South Koreans who consume less than 75 percent of their energy needs, and fail to consume enough calcium, iron, vitamin A and riboflavin increased from 11.9 percent in 2012 to 16.6 percent last year.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
