Fruit is on sale at a supermarket in Seoul, Aug. 11. Yonhap
Seoul residents are eating 33 percent less fruit than 10 years ago while consuming more meat, a report showed Thursday.
According to the Seoul Institute report, Seoulites' fruit intake decreased by 33.2 percent from an average of 182.4 grams per day in 2012 to 121.8 grams in 2021, while their meat intake surged to 149.1 grams from 110 grams during the same period.
The report analyzed the responses of Seoul residents who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Survey from 2012 to 2021 on dietary habits and practices, nutritional knowledge and prevalence of environment- and diet-related chronic diseases.
Grain intake decreased from 296.7 grams to 267.1 grams, and vegetable intake also decreased from 278.1 grams to 244.1 grams.
The report showed an overall downward trend in the intake of plant-based foods such as grains, fruit and vegetables, possibly due to continuous increases in the price of agricultural products.
A growing number of Seoul residents are skipping breakfast. As of 2012, the proportion of those skipping breakfast stood at 21.1 percent, which rose later to 31.6 percent in 2021, higher than the national average of 28 percent.
Their rate of eating out, standing at 26.5 percent, was also higher than the national average of 22.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the proportion of undernourished people in Seoul also went up from 10.3 percent in 2012 to 13.3 percent in 2021, which was slightly lower than the country's average of 17 percent.
By age, the prevalence of undernourishment stood highest among middle and high school students aged between 12 and 18.
Notably, the proportion of Seoul residents who consume too much energy and fat increased from 7.7 percent to 7.9 percent over the past decade. The figure was also higher than that of the entire population, standing at 5.6 percent.
The rate represents those who eat more than 125 percent of the energy recommended for a person and consume more fat than the advised amount.
The report said the proportion of excessive energy and fat intake was high among those aged between 6 and 11, standing at 21.8 percent. Accordingly, the prevalence of obesity among Seoul residents increased from 29.5 percent in 2012 to 35.3 percent in 2021.
Meanwhile, the percentage of people who eat less than 500 grams of fruit and vegetables a day rose from 61.4 percent to 71.8 percent during the same period.
The proportion of people with chronic diseases has also increased, the report showed.
The prevalence of high blood pressure among Seoul residents increased from 23.6 to 26.1 percent between 2012 and 2021, while that of diabetes jumped from 7.9 percent to 11.8 percent.