Maintaining a balanced diet and exercising regularly are effective measures to prevent metabolic syndrome, a condition that causes diseases, which kill about one Taiwanese every 12.5 minutes, the Taiwan Epidemiology Association said.
With the weather getting cooler, people tend to eat excessively during the Mid-Autumn Festival, causing metabolic syndrome symptoms such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high blood lipid levels to worsen, the association said, highlighting the importance of taking preventive measures.
Death caused by metabolic syndrome and diseases related to it accounted for five of the top 10 causes of death in Taiwan last year, amounting to a death rate of about 219.2 people in every 100 thousand, the association said, adding that metabolic syndrome-related diseases kill more Taiwanese than malignant tumors.
Hsu Kuang-hung (許光宏), an executive member of the association, said high levels of blood pressure, blood sugar, blood lipid, as well being overweight can lead to cardiovascular disease, hypertensive crisis, diabetes and cancer.
He said in a research conducted by the association, scientists discovered that people with high blood pressure need to take their diets under strict control, and those with high blood sugar and high blood lipid levels should get plenty of exercise.
Yang Chun-yuh (楊俊毓), a professor of Kaoshiung Medical University’s Department of Public Health, said aerobic exercise can help control diseases related to metabolic syndrome, as research revealed that subjects showed reduced levels of body mass index, arterial stiffness index and reduced weight after five months of brisk walking.
Wang Li-yu (王豊裕), a professor at Mackay Medical College, said that in addition to measuring blood pressure and having blood tests, undergoing carotid ultrasound and computed tomography can also help diagnose metabolic syndrome.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
RSS