More that 33 percent of the nation’s women have a waistline of more than 80cm, according to the results of surveys conducted by the Bureau of Health Promotion and highlighted yesterday on International Women’s Day.
The bureau’s section chief Chen Yen-fang (陳延芳) said an adult woman’s waistline should not exceed 80cm, but added that the behavior risk factor survey conducted by telephone among nearly 17,000 people last year showed that 58 percent of the respondents did not know that their waistline exceeded the bureau’s recommended maximum.
Chen said that a survey on national nutrition and health changes found that the proportion of women with a waistline exceeding 80cm rose to 33.6 percent in the 2005-2008 period from 20.2 percent recorded in a 1993-1996 survey.
Chen said that the number grew by 1 percent per year between 1993 and 2005, reflecting a trend toward obesity, which she said could lead to risks of high triglycerides, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
The bureau suggested that women cut their consumption of sugary beverages such as bubble milk tea to one cup a day, take public transportation and walk for at least 15 minutes a day.
It also said women should increase their consumption of vegetables and cereals, minimize consumption of fried and processed food and skip late-night snacks in order to trim their waistlines.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the