The obesity rate among adults in South Korea has increased by 30 percent over the past decade, with one-third of the adult population considered medically obese last year.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) announced the analysis on Monday based on a survey of 230-thousand adults across South Korea's 258 cities, counties and districts last year.

The body mass index of 34-point-four percent of respondents was 25 or higher, indicating obesity, which is 1-point-three times higher than the 26-point-three percent logged in 2015.

Forty-one-point-four percent of male respondents were obese, one-point-eight times higher than female respondents, 23 percent of whom fell into the category.

The obesity rate was more prevalent among men in their 30s and 40s at 53-point-one percent among those in their 30s and 50-point-three percent among men in their 40s.

Though the overweight and obesity rate among people aged 15 and older in South Korea as of 2023 stood at 36.5 percent, 20 percentage points below the OECD average, the KDCA called for continuous monitoring and enhanced health management policies.