Kaohsiung has the highest rate of obesity among junior-high and high-school students in the nation, the most recent Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics showed.
The latest annual report of nationwide obesity statistics showed that at the elementary school level an average of 30.2 percent of male students and 22.7 percent of female students are obese. At the junior-high school level, 36.4 percent of male students and 25.6 percent of female students are obese.
However, statistics released earlier this year by the Kaohsiung Education Bureau showed that 32.68 percent of male students and 23.76 percent of female students at elementary school are obese. At the junior-high school level, 39.19 percent of males and 27.47 percent of females in the city are obese.
Photo: Hsu Li-chuan, Taipei Times
Grades one and two have the lowest rates of obesity, while 20 percent of students at the grade-five level and above are obese and 14 percent are overweight, the statistics for the city showed.
The high rate might be due to the hot weather in Kaohsiung, which might be encouraging children to drink more sweet and iced beverages, the Kaohsiung Education Bureau said, adding that the heat also causes children to spend less time exercising outdoors.
The average body mass index (BMI) of students in districts closer to the mountains and of indigenous children is higher, and that of students from near the city center including Gushan (鼓山), Sinsing (新興), Lingya (苓雅) and Cianjin (前金) districts is lower, the data showed.
The bureau recorded a decrease in the average BMI of the city’s students from each grade compared with the year before. The highest decrease was recorded among sixth graders whose average BMI decreased by 0.17, while the second-biggest decrease was among ninth graders, with an average BMI decrease of 0.13.
The year-on-year decrease showed that efforts by the city to promote a healthier lifestyle were promising, the bureau said, adding that students reported higher levels of exercise and better sleep patterns.
However, more effort was needed to encourage more water intake and consumption of vegetables, it said.
Schools with a higher proportion of overweight students would be provided with greater funds and resources to promote healthy habits, it said.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS