Too bad we couldn't get something like that to work here......
Students fighting obesity
By Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTER
Sunday, Apr 23, 2006,Page 2
Advertising Losing 10kg within six months may sound unrealistic to many, but for junior-high student Chou Che-wei (©PÂ*õ½n), it was an attainable goal accomplished through adopting a healthier diet and with the help of Taipei city's anti-obesity school program.
By putting into practice advice from the "Sunshine Student" program organized by the Taipei City Education Department in city schools, Chou went from 84kg to 74kg within six months by riding a bicycle to school every day, joining her school's weekly aerobic dance class and saying no to sweetened drinks and snacks.
"It was difficult at the beginning, but then it became a habit. Now I exercise whenever I have time, such as doing jump-rope when I watch TV," Chou said.
Childhood obesity has become a growing health issue for children in Taiwan. To tackle the problem, the education department began to promote the Sunshine Student Program last year with the aim of decreasing rates of childhood obesity by encouraging students to exercise and ditch junk food.
The program introduced the "6520" principle, which encouraged students to exercise for at least five minutes during the break periods between at least six of their daily classes, and to chew food at least 20 times before swallowing.
In addition, the department also demanded that municipal schools ban carbonated soft drinks and sweetened drinks, and snacks containing 250 calories or more. Although many schools complained about the regulation because the sale of such drinks and snacks brought schools valuable revenue, education department dietician Lee Ming-ling (§õ±ÓÄÖ) said there are still many items which conform to the regulations, including pure fruit juices, cereal, sushi or low calorie bread.
"We keep the school snacks to under 250 calories so that students will eat their meals normally, rather than having only snacks. But there are still various snacks to choose from," she said earlier this week during a press conference to introduce the program.
Another student who benefitted from the program is Chen Wei-yu (³¯«Â¦t), a junior high school student who went from 73kg to 68kg within a month.
"I no longer eat fried chicken and fries, and refuse to go to buffet restaurants. I eat at least five kinds of fruit and vegetables every day, and try to stay away from snacks," said Chen, who is determined to lose more weight to shake off his nickname of "fatty."
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