Seoulites eat less fruit, more meat than decade ago: study

Nectarines are on display at a store in Seoul, Aug. 11. (Yonhap)

The eating habits of people living in Seoul have shifted towards consuming more meat, fewer vegetables and less fruit in the past decade, a study by the city-funded Seoul Institute showed Thursday.

Seoul residents were eating 33.2 percent less fruit and 26.2 percent more meat in 2021 compared to in 2012, according to the study. Specifically, fruit consumption fell from 181.4 grams a day per person to 12.8 grams a day, while meat consumption rose from 110 grams per day per person to 149.1 grams a day.

While not as much of a decrease, Seoulites were found to be eating less grains and vegetables in 2021 compared to in 2012. The daily grain consumption per capita went from 296.7 grams to 267.1 grams, while vegetable consumption dropped from 278.1 grams to 244.1 grams.

Daily calorie intake per person decreased slightly from 1,985.5 to 1919.5 from 2012 to 2021. Due to changes in eating habits, people in Seoul were getting increasingly more energy from fats and proteins.

In 2012, Seoulites got 63.8 percent of their daily calorie intake from carbohydrates, 15.1 percent from proteins and 21.1 percent from fats. The ratio shifted in 2021 to 57.5 percent from carbohydrates, 16.1 percent from proteins and 26.5 percent from fats.

The research also showed increases in chronic health issues closely related to people's eating habits, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. In 2012, 23.6 percent of the people in Seoul had high blood pressure, which went up to 26.1 percent in 2021.

The percentage of people with diabetes went up from 7.9 percent to 11.8 percent in the same period.

More people were skipping breakfast in 2021 compared to 2012, increasing from 21.1 percent to 31.6 percent. This tendency was the strongest among younger people aged 19 to 29 -- 58.3 percent of whom did not eat breakfast.

Some 39.3 percent in the 30-49 age group, 38.3 percent in the 12-18 age group and 24.3 percent in the 50-64 age group also skipped breakfast.

The researchers noted that the change in people's eating habits appears to have been triggered by changes in society, such as the social distancing at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that led to soaring percentages of people getting food delivered or eating processed food. They also commented that the continuing increase in single-person households is suspected to be a major contributing factor as well, leading to more people eating out and skipping breakfast.

They raised concerns over the excessive consumption of fat, sodium and sugar apparent in the study, particularly in the youth population.

"We recommend (government) policies that encourage healthy eating habits, eating more vegetables and fruit, while reducing the excessive consumption of fats or sugars," the researchers said.

The study was based on data from an annual national nutrition survey conducted under Article 16 of the National Health Promotion Act.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)