Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/06/09
By: Chen Ching-fang and Y.F. Low
Taipei, June 9 (CNA) Twenty-six percent of elementary students in Taiwan were
overweight or obese in 2013-2014, according to the results of a survey released Tuesday by the Health Promotion Administration (HPA).
The overweight and obesity rate was 32 percent among boys and 20 percent among girls.
The results show a slight improvement from 2001-2002, when 28.2 percent of elementary students were overweight or obese (boys 31.8 percent; girls 24.2 percent).
According to the HPA, due to the notion of “thin is beautiful,” girls pay more attention to their body image than boys. As a result, the overweight and obesity rate of girls has dropped significantly over the past 10 years, while that of boys has risen slightly. [FULL STORY]