[A summarized unofficial version of the press release]
2025 Korean Youth Health Behavior Panel Survey Kicks Off!
- The 2025 Korean Youth Health Behavior Panel Survey marks the seventh year of a 10-year follow-up study (2019-2028) tracking 5,051 Korean youth.
- The survey aims to examine changes in adolescent health behaviors and identify factors influencing health outcomes in adulthood.
Osong, 25th March 2025 – The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced that the 2025 Korean Youth Health Behavior Panel Survey has run from March 8 (Saturday) to October 31 (Friday).
The Panel Survey aims to monitor changes in adolescent health behaviors and the predisposing factors that contribute to long-term health outcomes. The survey tracks health behaviors such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, diet, and physical activity from elementary school through early adulthood (early 20s).
* Note: Initiated in 2019, the survey follows a panel of 5,051 sixth-grade elementary school students nationwide over a ten-year period (2019-2028).
< Overview of the Korean Youth Health Behavior Panel Survey>
üTarget: 5,051 sixth-grade elementary school students and their parents/guardians who participated in the 2019 survey
üPeriod: 2019–2028 (10-year follow-up)
ü**Focus:**Changes in health behaviors such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and diet, along with related contributing factors.
üMethod: A self-administered survey on tablet PCs via household visits by surveyors.|
Panel surveys provide valuable insights by tracking the same participants over a long period of time. This approach enables researchers to analyze the temporal and causal relationships between changes in health behaviors and their influencing factors such as individual traits, family dynamics, peer influence, and social environments.
In July of last year, KDCA released important findings from the first five rounds of the Youth Health Behavior Panel Survey, which included:
- The need for stronger regulations on emerging tobacco products and flavored tobacco.
- Evidence suggesting that electronic cigarettes (ECs) may serve as a gateway to conventional cigarette smoking among adolescents.
- The importance of improving both health behaviors and environmental conditions that shape long-term health habits.
Now in its seventh year, the survey was launched earlier in March than in previous years to better accommodate students entering their senior year of high school and to improve participation rates.
The survey is conducted through household visits by surveyors and consists of:
- A 200-question student questionnaire covering topics such as physical activity, diet, tobacco use, and alcohol consumption.
- A 23-question parental questionnaire focused on the home environment, with an option for guardians to complete the survey via telephone.
“We aim to leverage the insights gained from this survey to inform effective policies, enhance public health systems, promote research that supports adolescent well-being and helps them grow into healthy adulthood,” said Dr. Youngmee Jee, Commissioner of KDCA. She emphasized the importance of active engagement and cooperation from all participants.
“We encourage students selected for the Youth Health Behavior Panel Survey to take pride in representing Korean youth and actively participate, knowing that their contribution will help improve adolescent health nationwide.”
For more information and detailed statistics on the Panel Survey, please visit the KDCA website: www.kdca.go.kr.