The Bureau of Health Promotion said yesterday that a recent survey showed that about half of male workers over the age of 15 in Taiwan are overweight and almost four out of every five workers, regardless of gender, do not get adequate exercise.
A telephone survey of 6,091 workers older than 15 showed that 22.7 percent of all workers were overweight, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of between 24 and 27, while 11.8 percent were obese, meaning a BMI above 27.
A person’s BMI is calculated using his or her height and weight.
Among male workers, almost 49 percent were overweight or obese, said Su Shin-yuh (蘇新育), a specialist in the bureau’s Community Health Division.
Weight problems could be attributed to a lack of regular exercise and healthy diet, Su said.
Just over 77 percent of respondents did not get enough exercise, which the bureau recommends said should be least 150 minutes per week. Of those who responded that they did not exercise enough, more than 35 percent did very little or no exercise every week.
Asked about their diet, 11.9 percent of respondents did not have regular eating habits, which the bureau defined as having regular-sized meals at regular times. More than half of those surveyed said they usually ate out for breakfast and lunch, and most did not eat the recommended daily servings of fruit and vegetables.
The bureau said that although the percentage of smokers had dropped from 18.2 percent last year to 17.3 percent this year, almost 30 percent of male workers still smoked, highlighting the need for better anti-smoking campaigns.
The survey also found that muscle and joint pain were the top health problems for respondents, at 29.1 percent, while 27.5 percent said they were constantly exhausted and 22.3 percent reported facing serious mental stress.
Su said Taiwanese workers were typically overworked and had little time to exercise or engage in healthy activities to relieve stress.
To encourage workers — especially those who regularly work overtime — to exercise more, the bureau said it would offer programs to let businesses known that employee health is an important asset.
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