A new study shows that more and more South Koreans fall into the category of obesity.
 
A research arm of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation or Nonghyup said in its latest journal Monday that 31-point-five percent of South Koreans aged 19 years or older were obese as of 2014, up one-point-two percentage points from 30-point-three percent in 2001.
 
The figure is also six-point-seven percentage points higher than in Japan.
 
People are considered to be obese if their body mass index(BMI) is higher than 25. BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight by his or her height.

In South Korea, the average daily calorie intake per person also increased nearly ten percent from one-thousand-881 kilocalories in 2001 to two-thousand-63 in 2014. The daily calorie count is above the recommended level of two-thousand kilocalories for adults. 
 
The growth is attributed to the increased number of people dining out or preferring fatty foods, such as Western and Chinese dishes over healthier options.
 
Of the three key nutrients, the intake of carbohydrates dropped one-point-one percentage points to 64-point-five percent, while protein intake fell zero-point-six percent points to 14-point-five percent. By contrast, the intake of fat increased one-point-seven percent to 20-point-nine percent.
 
The average per-person daily intake of fat grew 17 percent from 83-point-nine grams in 2001 to 98-point-27 grams in 2014.