Taiwanese have a stronger desire to lose weight than most other people in the Asia-Pacific region, leading a doctor to conclude that Taiwanese assign too much importance to staying slim, a survey released yesterday shows.
The survey, conducted by TNS Research International, the world’s largest provider of custom research and analysis, was commissioned by American International Assurance Co (AIA).
It found that 77 percent of Taiwanese expressed the desire to lose weight, compared with a regional average of 54 percent across 15 Asian markets.
That made Taiwan next only to Macau, where 78 percent of respondents considered themselves overweight, and ahead of South Korea at 75 percent and Hong Kong at 70 percent, the survey found.
Most Taiwanese aged 18 to 29 are dissatisfied with their body shape, as 78 percent in the bracket longed to be slimmer, far outnumbering their peers in other countries, the survey showed.
About 73 percent of young South Koreans desired to lose weight, followed by their Hong Kong counterparts at 68 percent, the survey added.
The findings suggest Taiwanese adults are more conscious of obesity than the rest of the region, the survey said.
Fan Hao-yi (范豪益), a family doctor at Taipei Medical University Hospital, said young people in Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong overemphasized the importance of body weight based on the survey.
“I don’t think the problem [of being overweight] is that serious in Taiwan,” Fan said. “Image, rather than health concerns probably drive this desire to be slimmer.”
Fan said the body mass index (BMI), defined as an individual’s body weight divided by the square of their height, is a better indicator of fitness than body weight or body shape.
Slim people may have higher BMI scores than their heavier counterparts who maintain a healthy diet and regular exercise, Fan said.
A BMI value of 18.5 to 24 may indicate optimal weight, he said. A BMI below 20 suggests the person is underweight, while a number above 25 may indicate the person is overweight.
To stay fit, people should maintain a balanced, healthy diet, as well as regular exercise, Fan said.
Many Taiwanese, or 59 percent, do not exercise regularly, compared with the regional average of 52 percent, the survey found, adding that 42 percent exercised less than an hour a week, on par with the regional average.
While Taiwanese generally appreciate the importance of a healthy diet, 85 percent equate the concept with drinking more water, the survey said.
The survey also showed that Taiwanese adults sleep 6.6 hours a day, slightly lower than the 6.8 hours a day for the region and shorter than the ideal target of 8 hours.
While some work too long, more young adults sacrifice sleep in order to play online games or surf the Internet, Fan said.
“In the pursuit of healthy living, it is more important to exercise regularly and maintain a balanced diet, than fixing one’s attention on body weight,” the doctor said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
RSS