Prevalence of obesity in Taiwan

Summary In Taiwan, the prevalence and problem of obesity has increased significantly in recent decades and has became an important public health issue. In children (12–15 years), the prevalence of obesity (defined as body weight > 120% of mean body weight with age‐ and gender‐specification) was 12.4%, 14.8% and 15.6% among boys and 10.1%, 11.1% and 12.9% among girls in 1980, 1986 and 1996 respectively. A survey of 1500 12–15‐year‐old children during 1995–1996 in Taipei city found that about 16.6% of boys and 11.1% of girls were obese, while an additional 11.6% of boys and 10.2% of girls were overweight. In adults, using the criteria defined by the Department of Health in Taiwan [overweight as (body mass index) BMI ≥ 24 and obese as BMI ≥ 27], the age‐adjusted prevalence of obesity was 10.5% and 15.9% for men and 13.2% and 10.7% for women from 1993–1996 to 2000–2001. From these data, we found that the prevalence of obesity in Taiwan has increased steadily from 1980 to 2000 especially in children and in men.