Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

President Ma Ying-jeou on the afternoon of February 22 met with foreign experts and scholars attending the 2011 International Conference on Obesity Prevention held in Taipei. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, expressed a warm welcome to the guests on their visit to Taiwan and participation in the conference.

The president remarked that at present 44.1% of adults and 25% of children here are overweight or obese. Seven of the top 10 causes of mortality here are obesity-related, which is something that the public needs to pay more attention to. Meanwhile, the president commented that this year marks the ROC's centenary and one of the government's goals is encouraging the public to become more active in this special year. The government hopes that 600,000 people will join in a movement to eat healthier and exercise more, while at the same time losing an aggregate 600 tons, he said.

President Ma stated that the government hopes to create healthy cities and a healthy nation. Consequently, it is encouraging the public to eat in a healthy manner and engage in more exercise. The government's concrete goal is for a healthier public to reduce the burden on the National Health Insurance program, he said. The president also said the government hopes to slow the increase in obesity here over the next five years, and over the coming five to 10 years to reduce the child obesity ratio of elementary school students. It also aims to increase the prevalence of sports here by 10% within five years. Currently, 24% of Taiwan's public engages in regular athletic activity, which is double in comparison with 20 years ago, and the government is hoping for this ratio to increase further, he noted.

The president commented that the overweight and obese population here continues to increase and that the government needs to make greater efforts. More exercise and better dietary habits will help to gradually reduce the ratio of overweight and obese people here, he said.

The guests were accompanied to the Presidential Office in the afternoon by Department of Health Deputy Minister Hsiao Mei-ling to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Advisor Chung Chien.