Lee Suhyun [YouTube channel 'Chimchakman']
Lee Suhyun [YouTube channel 'Chimchakman']

Lee Suhyun, 27, of the duo Akdong Musician (Akmu), has opened up about how compulsive binge eating drove her weight up and pushed her to the edge of prediabetes — and how that diagnosis became the turning point that led her to lose 30 kilograms in just over a year, without any weight-loss medication.

Lee spoke about her weight-loss journey on the YouTube channel "Chimchakman," which posted the episode Wednesday.

She said the pressure to stay thin from the moment she debuted had worn her out. "From right after my debut, I lived with the question of why I even had to do this," she said. "I was forcing myself to lose weight just to look good on screen, so whenever I didn't have to manage my appearance, I would binge repeatedly and my weight would yo-yo."

It has previously been reported that Lee fell into a prolonged slump after 2023, spending her days in near-total isolation at home and binge eating every day. The roughly 30-kilogram weight gain led to social anxiety, which in turn fueled more binge eating in a vicious cycle. In an earlier broadcast, she confessed: "I kept the curtains drawn and didn't even want to feel whether it was day or night. I binged without missing a single day, and as my weight shot up I felt a pain like my body was being torn apart. Back then I even thought, 'There is no better future for me.'"

"I knew there was no way I could be healthy after gaining so much weight, but I was too afraid to face it and wouldn't go to the hospital," she said. "Then I got a blood test and was told I was prediabetic."

She said the diagnosis jolted her into action. "Seeing a red flag for my health at such a young age, I threw myself into exercise and managing my diet in earnest," she said. "When I went back for a check-up this year, every single indicator had returned to normal."

The number of young diabetes patients in their teens and 20s is rising rapidly. According to the National Health Insurance Service, the number of diabetes patients under 30 reached a record high of 53,831 in 2025. Teenage patients rose 56.8 percent over the decade from 7,334 in 2015 to 11,500 last year, while patients in their 20s surged 109.4 percent from 19,781 in 2015 to 41,414 last year.

With encouragement from her older brother Lee Chanhyuk and others around her, Lee rebuilt her resolve and overcame her slump by losing 30 kilograms in roughly a year. She did it through exercise and diet alone — with no weight-loss drugs — drawing wide attention.


paq@heraldcorp.com