Eight among Taiwan’s 10 most common causes of death in 2020 were related to obesity, while the obesity rate among Taiwanese adults has remained high over the past few years, reaching its highest at 47.9 percent from 2016 to 2019, the Health Promotion Administration has said.
The World Obesity Federation’s theme for this year’s World Obesity Day on Friday last week — “Everybody Needs to Act” — called for coordinated recognition and actions, the agency said.
WHO data in 2016 showed that 39 percent of adults worldwide were overweight and 13 percent were obese, the agency said, adding that the nation’s overweight rate exceeded the global average.
Photo: Chiu Chih-ju, Taipei Times
Taiwan Medical Association for the Study of Obesity chairman Lin Wen-yuan (林文元), a physician at China Medical University’s Department of Family Medicine in Taichung, said obesity is a chronic disease that causes declining physical health.
Obesity is related to eight among the nation’s 10 most common causes of death, Lin said.
The eight causes include cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, hypertensive disease, chronic lower respiratory disease, nephritis and kidney disease, and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, he said.
Being obese increases the risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and it might triple the risk of hospitalization and double the risk of death due to the virus, he added.
Lin said obesity is also a risk factor for depression.
It is a complex and chronic disease with many causes, so people should not blame obese people for being lazy or say they lack determination, but rather offer them support to solve the problem, he said.
As the theme of World Obesity Day is “Everybody Needs to Act” this year, his organization urged people to follow three principles that can be subsumed as ACT, Lin said.
They are “accompanying” and having empathy for people who are overweight or obese, including supporting and assisting them when they are trying to lose weight, instead discriminating against them; reducing one’s “calorie” intake; and “training,” including improving one’s knowledge on healthy means of weight control, he said.
Taiwan Pediatric Association chairman Lee Hung-chang (李宏昌), a pediatrician at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei, said that some parents might have the misconception that obesity in children is not a problem.
Obesity in children increases the risks of cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases when they get older, he said, adding that it can also cause negative effects on their social integration and learning.
He said keeping a balanced diet, exercising regularly and getting sufficient sleep are important to prevent obesity in children, he said.
Parents can limit the amount of food their obese child eats, accompany them while exercising, and make sure they get enough sleep for better growth and development, he said.
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition