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.
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