Medical experts say that overweight people are more susceptible to diseases than those of normal weight.

Body mass index (BMI), which is calculated by dividing a person's weight by the square of his or her height, is the most widely used tool to determine obesity. People are considered overweight if they have a BMI of 25 or above. In 2007 some 31.7 percent of Korea's overall population was overweight.

Overweight people are also advised to take extra caution to avoid accidents in their everyday lives such as tumbling on the street or falling down stairs. A study shows that obese people are 73 percent more likely to fall down than those of normal weight. The five-year study on 360,000 insurance customers was conducted by the Life Care Institute of Samsung Life Insurance. "Overweight people are poor at keeping their balance and agility compared to people of normal weight," said Lee Kwang-ho, an official at the insurer. "They tend to fall more easily and get seriously injured." 

Insurance companies would naturally prefer to receive higher premiums from overweight people since they are more vulnerable to disease and accidents. But no Korean insurers charge more or offer discounts based on a subscriber's weight. In the U.S. and other advanced countries some insurance companies require the excessively overweight to pay 10 percent more than those of normal weight, and many other insurers are planning to introduce similar policies.