A recent survey conducted by the Departmentof Health (DOH) showed that one out of every fourjunior high school students is currently overweight.The survey sample included roughly 4,400 juniorhigh students in Taiwan. It found that 35% of boysand 22% of girls are carrying excess kilos, settingthemselves up for a host of future medical problemsincluding diabetes.

近期一项由卫生部发起的调查研究显示有1/4的初中生体重超过正常标准。研究样本大约包括4400个台湾初中生。研究发现35%的男孩和22%的女孩体内带有多余的卡路里，这会使他们将来面临很多健康问题，包括糖尿病。

One culprit is bad food. The survey also showed that soda and other sugar-based drinks arethe choice of 80% of junior high school students at least twice a week. Exercise is a dailyrecommendation for children, but the survey claims 40% of kids in Taiwan are not evenbreaking a sweat three times a week.

劣质食物就是罪魁祸首之一。调查也显示80%的台湾初中生一周至少会饮用两次苏打和含糖饮料。依照建议，儿童每天都要运动，但是这项调查显示，台湾有四成孩童一周运动不到三次。

Chairman Chuang Lee-ming of the Diabetes Association of the Republic of China says thetime for action has come: "Prevention is more effective than treatment. Since we know thatbeing overweight is one of the risk factors for diabetes in children, we should take the problemseriously."

台湾地区糖尿病协会的主席张利民指出，应对这一状况应该采取相应措施：“预防比治疗更有效。既然知道体重过胖是导致儿童患糖尿病的一个危险因素，我们就应该严肃对待。

While severely obese people are currently a rarity in Taiwan, the experiences of the U.S.,Canada and much of Western Europe show that weight can sneak up on a population quickly.Taiwan should endeavor to nip obesity in the bud, before it's too late.

虽然目前有严重肥胖问题的人在台湾很罕见，但是美国、加拿大和西欧许多国家的经验都显示，肥胖问题可能很快便不知不觉地找上许多人。台湾当局应积极应对，将肥胖症扼杀在萌芽状态，以免悔之不及。