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Obesity is increasingly becoming a cause of death in Korea, with more than 110,000 individuals dying in 2022 after carrying excessive body fat and being diagnosed with fatal diseases, a report showed Thursday.

The report, released by Statistics Korea, analyzed changing social trends in a range of areas, including population, households, living conditions, health, marriage and climate change.

It showed that 112,000 individuals died of diseases as a result of obesity, up 7.5 percent from 2021.

Of the 112,000, 43.2 percent were diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases. The other 37.4 percent had cancer, and another 10.4 percent had disorders in hormone production, such as diabetes.

Statistics Korea noted that obesity was ranked fifth in terms of health risk factors that can develop into major diseases. High blood pressure topped the list, followed by smoking, high blood sugar and low body weight from birth.

The report also showed that more Koreans are getting caught for drug offenses, with Korea no longer priding itself as a "drug-free country." The term refers to a country that has fewer than 20 criminals convicted of drug offenses per 100,000 nationals.

Those who were caught taking illegal drugs increased by 2.8 times to 27,611 from 2013 to 2023. In particular, those who are minors or in their 20s accounted for the largest portion, with 35.6 percent in 2023.

Those who were caught for trafficking illegal drugs totaled 12,226 in 2023, marking a 3.6 increase from 10 years earlier.

Abuse of prescription drugs increased as well over the cited period.

A total of 169 individuals died after overdosing on sleeping pills, pain relievers and other drugs that can be purchased as medication. The number went up 3.8 times from 44 in 2012.

On the subject of late marriages and a rise in singlehood, the rate of unmarried individuals in their 40s increased 6.7 times for men and 5.7 times for women in 2020 compared with 20 years earlier.

The report showed that 23.6 percent of men and 11.9 percent of women in their 40s were unmarried in 2020, compared with just 3.5 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively, in 2000.

Additionally, the report indicated that only a small portion of unmarried individuals aged 19 to 34 found marriage to be essential.

A growing majority of this age group expressed a positive attitude toward unconventional marital arrangements, such as cohabitation or having children out of wedlock.

With the country struggling with the accelerated aging of society, the report showed that those who were 65 or older would make up 43.1 percent of households nationwide by 2040, up from 24.1 percent in 2022.

In 2022, 74.9 percent of older adults were homeowners. However, 35.4 percent of their homes were built more than 30 years ago, which are considered old here.

Among other trends observed were changes in the agriculture sector caused by climate change. Due to more adverse weather conditions, the areas of harvest for major crops, such as rice, beans and potatoes, shrank by up to 73 percent from 1975 to 2024.

Over the same time period, the areas for production of onion surged 343.7 percent.