About four in 10 Taiwanese parents are overweight, which not only puts them at a higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome, but also makes their children more prone to obesity, according to a survey published by the Taiwan Millennium Health Foundation yesterday.
The survey showed that of the 4,896 parents polled, about 40.49 percent of fathers have a waist circumference wider than 90cm, while 37.34 percent of mothers have waistlines of more than 80cm — fitting the definition of abdominal obesity.
This kind of obesity, along with high blood pressure, diabetes and abnormal levels of lipids, are associated with metabolic syndrome, a cluster of health conditions that increase one’s risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes — that were responsible for 31.1 percent of all deaths in the nation last year.
Foundation chairman Wu Chih-hsing (吳至行), a physician in National Cheng Kung University Hospital’s Department of Family Medicine, said 3,014 children — about 29.98 percent — from 10,052 families that have consulted with the foundation suffer from weight problems.
“It means that nearly three out of every 10 kids in the country are overweight or obese,” Wu said.
Wu said research has suggested that a child with one overweight parent is twice as susceptible to weight problems, while the risk increases fivefold if both parents are overweight.
“More alarming is that merely 9 percent of the respondents exercise three times a week, while 67 percent never exercise or do not have a regular workout habit. As parents’ poor lifestyles and dietary habits often pass on to their children, these kids are more likely to have a plump figure,” Wu said.
The foundation urges people to adopt what it calls a “3D lifestyle”: “Do” watch your waistline, blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels; “do” maintain a healthy diet; and “do” exercise.
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