The Lasting Impact of Childhood Circumstance on Obesity in Korea: Results from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2011

In this paper, we investigate associations between socioeconomic conditions in childhood and adulthood and obesity/overweight status in adulthood utilizing the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) conducted in 2007–2009. Identifying factors that affect obesity/overweight status is increasingly important in Korea given the sharp rise in the prevalence of obesity/overweight during the past decades. Specifically, we assess (i) whether the inverse relationship between adult SES and obesity/overweight, which is commonly found in the United States and some European countries, is also observed in Korea; (ii) whether childhood SES is associated with obesity/overweight independent of adult SES; and (iii) whether these relationships vary by gender. The preliminary results show that there is a strong relationship between childhood SES and adult obesity among South Koreans, and adult SES attenuated this relationship in women only. We also find that men with lower childhood SES are likely to have lower risk of obesity while low childhood and low adult SES predict higher risk of obesity/overweight for women.