Not to be outdone by popular dieting advertisements, the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday launched a series of nutrition classes to help the public obtain a healthy understanding of proper dieting habits.
Coined "Challenge 1824," the initiative calls on the public to achieve a body mass index (BMI) of between 18.5 and 24.
"A BMI of under 18.5 is too low. While this initiative is targeted toward overweight individuals, there are many underweight girls in Taiwan," warned Lee Hui-jung (李蕙蓉), president of the Chinese Federation of Dietitians' Associations.
Lee explained that the body mass index is calculated by dividing one's weight in kilograms by the square of one's height in meters.
People can sign up for the DOH diet classes at 400 different government health departments around Taiwan. The classes will be two to three hours long and take place over the course of six to eight weeks.
The content of the classes will focus on nutrition and proper dieting. In addition, the public can have their BMI index calculated free of charge at any of these local departments.
DOH Director-General Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) was also present yesterday to help kick off the health initiative. He added that a waist size of more than 31.4 inches (80cm) for women and 35.5 inches (90cm) for men was an indication of obesity.
To help raise awareness, Chen's BMI and waist size were calculated and measured during yesterday's press conference. A 23.2 BMI and a waist size of 87cm brought the minister close to the ideal figures set out by the department.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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