The percentage of Taiwanese men who are overweight is rising due to lifestyle changes, a researcher said on Thursday.
The share of overweight Taiwanese has steadily increased since 2016, reaching 47.9 percent of adults in 2019, Health Promotion Administration data showed.
The data showed that 66.6 percent of Taiwanese men aged 35 to 44 are overweight or obese, making it the demographic with the largest share of overweight or obese people.
The share of overweight or obese women in the same age group is 30 percentage points lower, the data showed.
For women, the age group with the highest share of overweight or obese people is that of 65 or older, with 58.8 percent, it showed.
The agency classifies people with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 30 as overweight, and those with a BMI of above 30 as obese.
To calculate a person’s BMI, their weight in kilograms is divided by the square of their height in meters.
Starting this year, the agency’s annual health statistics report compiles overweight and obesity data in four-year periods. For the previous period, from 2013 to 2016, the agency found that 45.4 percent of Taiwanese were overweight or obese.
Lu Chia-wen (盧佳文), a doctor in National Taiwan University Hospital’s family medicine department, said that the high share of overweight or obese men aged 35 to 44 might be due to many men of that age group experiencing major changes in their life, for example when they start working in more demanding jobs or start a family.
“These changes lead to added stress at work and at home, which might lead to changed eating habits and less time for physical activities,” Lu said. “Men of that age group also experience slower metabolism, which might lead to them gaining weight.”
Many men are not aware of that process and only realize that they are gaining weight when they are already overweight, she added.
“Studies have found that women are more sensitive and care more about their body,” she said, adding that higher estrogen levels reduce the risk of gaining weight.
This “protects” women from unwanted weight gain until menopause, when their metabolism also slows down, she said.
The proportion of overweight and obese men is in general higher than that of women, she said, citing statistics from Japan, Singapore and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Unwanted weight gain is usually caused by genetic factors, excessive consumption of processed foods with high levels of sugar and fat, and a lack of exercise, medical experts say.
Overweight and obese people are more susceptible to high blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as cardiovascular disease and cancer, experts say.
When an overweight or obese person loses weight, their health condition usually improves, experts say, with studies finding lower rates of infertility, gastroesophageal reflux, osteoarthritis, and sleep apnea and other breathing disorders after a weight loss.
HPA Health Education and Tobacco Control Division head Lo Su-ying (羅素英) said that despite the share of overweight and obese adults continuing to rise, the trend has slowed in the past few years.
To help further reverse the trend, the agency is drafting guidelines on overweight control, Lo said, adding that it is also working on programs to be conducted at schools, among families, and in hospitals and communities to promote weight control from a young age.
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