Improper diet schemes afflict the nation

While over 10 million people are bothered by weight problems in this country, most slim-figure seekers are bedazzled by onrushing diet info in newspapers, fashion magazines, and blinded by exaggerate TV commercials, health officials warned yesterday.

Chang Chin-jen (張智仁), president of the Taiwan Medical Association for the Study of Obesity, estimated that there are at least 11 million people in the country who have weight problems. Chang also quoted a research by Medical Center of National Cheng Kung Medical Center, showing the that about 1 million people are on a diet.

"The whole nation is in the grip of craze for slimness," said Chang.

Also,the department's latest survey on nutrition intake revealed that people's weight increases quickly once they enter middle age.

There is a gender imbalance behind the figures, health experts said. Shaw Ning-shing (蕭寧馨), biochemical science professor from National Taiwan University, analyzed the department's data and spotted another disturbing fact- middle-aged women are more prone to balloon than men, even when they consume less calories.

Education also plays an important role in obesity scenario. The department's figures showed that better educated people tend to be thinner, Shaw said, because "educated people are more likely to read the food label, and calculate how much protein, carbohydrates, and fat are in each bite."

Obesity is feared becoming a class issue, said Chang. Because the poor don't have money to see a nutritionist or go to gyms like the urbane, their girth keeps growing. The most effective means of weight control -- a better diet and regular exercise -- seems the exclusive right of the rich.

According to Chu Nain-feng (祝年豐), attending physician of Family and Community Health Department in Tri-Service General Hospital, people of a lower socioeconomic status cannot afford healthy diets and instead eat poor quality food.

"We found out that in some remote villages in the mountain, [obesity] is more common than in cities," Chu said.

Though obesity afflicts the poor more than the rich, the desire to narrow one's girth is common nationwide. The diet craze has fueled a surfeit of fitness and diet information in the marketplace. The report from National Cheng Kung indicated that pills and drugs offered by pharmacists are by far the most popular option for dieters.

Health officials issued a string of heavy fines in the last two months against several diet products companies for false promises made in their TV and newspaper ads. Officials cautioned that most over-the-counter drugs do not deliver the magical effect of reducing tens of kilograms in a week, as some companies claim.

"A multitude of misleading ads has besieged the public," Chen Lu-hung (陳陸宏), director of Bureau of Food Safety in the Department of Health, said. "But there is no shortcut to losing weight -- and the public must accept that uncomfortable fact."

Health experts agreed that, true to the cliche, a balanced diet and an hour of exercise every day is the rule of thumb for weight management.

"Going to the Alexander Health Club once a week will not shake off fat as effectively as walking 10,000 steps every day," Chang said.