From 6th grade to high school, new data shows teen health declining in Korea

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency released raw data Tuesday from its sixth annual Youth Health Panel Survey on the long-term decline in teen health in Korea. The study tracks 5,051 students who entered as sixth-graders in 2019, with 4,141 still followed in 2024 through their second year of high school. The latest dataset adds 29 health indicators, including screen addiction and high-caffeine energy drink use, and finds rising risks tied to smartphone overdependence and frequent energy drink intake. The agency said the data will support independent research and evidence-based youth health policy.

The survey follows a single cohort of 5,051 students from sixth grade in 2019 through high school graduation in 2028.

The 2024 dataset covers 4,141 students, an 82 percent retention rate, through their second year of high school.

The latest dataset introduces 29 core health indicators across five domains: diet, physical activity, tobacco use, alcohol consumption and general illness.

Frequent energy drink intake is defined as three or more times per week in the survey.

The raw data are publicly accessible on the agency’s website, and an August symposium featured 95 separate studies based on the survey’s first five years.

Published Sep 29, 2026 11:36 am KST

In a nation where academic pressure intensifies sharply as children grow older, a groundbreaking multiyear study is revealing how the physical and mental health of teenagers deteriorates over time.

As students trade play for cram schools, public health officials are uncovering the long-term toll of childhood in one of the world's most competitive societies.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency released raw data Tuesday from its sixth annual Youth Health Panel Survey. The initiative tracks a single cohort of 5,051 students who entered the study in 2019 as sixth-graders through their high school graduation in 2028. The latest dataset follows 4,141 of these students — an 82 percent retention rate — through their second year of high school in 2024.

The 2024 dataset introduces 29 core health indicators spanning five major domains: diet, physical activity, tobacco use, alcohol consumption and general illness. Crucially, the survey added specific metrics measuring screen addiction and high-caffeine energy drink consumption, capturing how teenagers cope with grueling academic schedules.

Initial findings highlight that frequent energy drink intake — defined as three or more times per week — and smartphone overdependence have emerged as significant new public health risks among high school sophomores.

In addition to digital and dietary strain, the longitudinal findings track a steady shift in substance exposure and lifestyle habits as students progress toward adulthood.

The data detail precise initiation ages, usage frequencies and surrounding environmental influences — such as peer behavior and household exposure — for traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes and alcohol. Coupled with metrics on exercise frequency, sleep duration and self-reported depression or stress, the dataset provides a detailed picture of how adolescent wellbeing declines under sustained academic pressure.

The raw data, scrubbed of personal identifiers, is publicly accessible via the agency's website to encourage independent research across medicine, statistics and economics. The release follows an academic symposium held in August, where researchers presented 95 separate studies examining environmental and psychological determinants of youth health based on the survey's first five years of findings.

"This release allows researchers to analyze youth health behaviors from the perspective of developmental changes over time, rather than just isolated snapshots," said Lim Seung-kwan, director of the agency. "We will continue to produce and disclose high-quality data to support evidence-based health policies for young people."

By illuminating the daily habits of teenagers as they navigate high school, public health officials said they hope the long-term data will guide targeted interventions — from managing screen time to regulating high-caffeine drinks — before health routines solidify into adulthood.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.

韩国疾病管理厅周二发布了第六次年度青少年健康追踪调查的原始数据，该调查揭示了韩国青少年健康状况的长期下滑趋势。这项研究追踪了5051名2019年入学的小学六年级学生，其中4141名学生在2024年升入高中二年级后仍将继续接受追踪调查。最新的数据集新增了29项健康指标，包括屏幕成瘾和高咖啡因能量饮料的摄入，并发现智能手机过度依赖和频繁饮用能量饮料与青少年健康风险的上升密切相关。该机构表示，这些数据将为独立研究和循证青少年健康政策的制定提供支持。

该调查追踪了 5,051 名学生从 2019 年六年级到 2028 年高中毕业的整个过程。

2024 年的数据集涵盖了 4,141 名学生，保留率为 82%，直至他们高中二年级。

最新数据集引入了涵盖五个领域的 29 项核心健康指标：饮食、身体活动、烟草使用、酒精消费和一般疾病。

调查中将频繁饮用能量饮料定义为每周饮用三次或三次以上。

原始数据可在该机构的网站上公开获取，8 月份举办的研讨会重点介绍了基于该调查前五年的 95 项独立研究。

发布于2026年9月29日上午11:36（韩国标准时间）

在一个随着孩子年龄增长学业压力急剧增加的国家，一项开创性的多年研究揭示了青少年的身心健康如何随着时间的推移而恶化。

随着学生们放弃玩耍而选择补习班，公共卫生官员正在揭示世界上竞争最激烈的社会之一对童年造成的长期影响。

韩国疾病管理厅周二公布了第六届年度青少年健康追踪调查的原始数据。该调查追踪了5051名学生，他们于2019年以六年级学生的身份加入研究，直至2028年高中毕业。最新的数据集追踪了其中4141名学生（保留率为82%），直至他们2024年高中二年级毕业。

2024年的数据集引入了29项核心健康指标，涵盖五大领域：饮食、体育活动、烟草使用、酒精消费和一般疾病。至关重要的是，该调查新增了衡量屏幕成瘾和高咖啡因能量饮料消费的具体指标，从而反映了青少年如何应对繁重的学业压力。

初步研究结果表明，频繁饮用能量饮料（定义为每周三次或三次以上）和过度依赖智能手机已成为高中二年级学生中重要的新的公共卫生风险。

除了数字和饮食压力之外，纵向研究结果还显示，随着学生逐渐成年，物质接触和生活方式习惯也在稳步变化。

该数据集详细记录了青少年开始使用传统香烟、电子烟和酒精的精确年龄、使用频率以及周围环境的影响因素，例如同伴行为和家庭环境。结合运动频率、睡眠时长以及自我报告的抑郁或压力等指标，该数据集全面展现了青少年在持续的学业压力下身心健康如何下降的图景。

去除个人身份信息的原始数据已通过该机构网站公开，旨在鼓励医学、统计学和经济学领域的独立研究。此次数据发布是在8月份举办的一次学术研讨会之后进行的，会上研究人员展示了95项独立研究，这些研究基于该调查前五年的结果，探讨了影响青少年健康的环境和心理因素。

“此次发布的数据使研究人员能够从青少年健康行为随时间推移的发展变化角度进行分析，而不仅仅是孤立的快照，”该机构主任林承宽表示。“我们将继续制作和发布高质量数据，以支持制定循证的青少年健康政策。”

公共卫生官员表示，通过揭示青少年在高中阶段的日常习惯，他们希望长期数据能够指导有针对性的干预措施——从控制屏幕时间到限制高咖啡因饮料——以便在健康习惯固化到成年之前进行干预。

本文由生成式人工智能协助发布，并由《韩国时报》编辑。