The obesity rate of elementary and junior high school students in Taoyuan rose by one percent, with the top five areas with the highest obesity rates all being rural districts.
Students run laps around the track and throw Frisbees around after school. The Taoyuan City Department of Education recently looked at the results of elementary and junior high school fitness tests and found the obesity rate rose from, respectively, 13.10 percent to 14.25 percent at elementary schools and 16.7 percent to 17.78 percent at junior high schools.
Meihua Elementary School Student: “(Do you think you've gained weight?) Yes. Because we had to keep our masks on during the epidemic, we exercised less.”
Chiu Kuan-chang, Principal, Meihua Elementary School: “Apart from outdoor activities like gardening, our students run laps around the track every week. We also hold relay races for the entire school, including the teachers, every month.”
The department says the five districts that have the highest childhood obesity rates in Taoyuan are Fuxing at 19.51 percent, Guanyin at 19.28 percent, Xinwu at 18.44 percent, Dayuan at 16.03 percent, and Daxi at 15.73 percent. All five are rural districts. In contrast, Taoyuan District and Zhongli District have childhood obesity rates of, respectively, 12.62 percent and 13.97 percent.
Cheng Hui-ping, Chief, Sports and Health Section, Department of Education, Taoyuan City: “In contrast, the obesity rate in urban areas isn't as high. This may be because many children spent three full years sitting around at home. Diets consisting of highly processed foods are another factor.”
At the same time, the department noted that Taoyuan has lower childhood obesity rates than the national average, which are 14.41 percent of elementary school students and 18.32 percent of junior high school students. Department officials attribute the city's overall rising obesity rate to the high percentage of children being raised by their grandparents or single parents, which means they often don't have balanced diets and spent most of the pandemic period sitting around.
下課時間，校園裡學生在操場跑跑跳跳、玩飛盤，桃園市教育局分析110學年度全市國中小學生健檢結果，國小肥胖比例從109學年度的13.10％上升到14.25％，國中生也從16.7略升到17.78％，確實也有學生覺得疫情期間自己變胖了。
桃園大溪區美華國小學生表示，疫情期間因為口罩的關係就比較少運動。
桃園大溪區美華國小校長邱冠璋說道：「目前除了結合生態校園，讓小朋友種菜運動之外呢，我們每個禮拜小朋友都會跑操場，每一個月我們也會有一個全校的大隊接力，讓老師跟小朋友分成兩組來做對抗。」
教育局公布，桃園國中小學生肥胖率全五名，全在偏鄉，復興19.51%、觀音區19.28%、新屋區18.44%、大園區16.03%、大溪區15.73%，高於桃園區的12.62%和中壢區的13.97%。
桃市教育局體健科長鄭卉坪指出：「市區的肥胖比率反而沒那麼高，最主要的原因有可能是，因為這3年疫情孩子們都待在家中，久坐比較沒有動，還有可能在飲食的部分都過於精緻。」
教育局表示，全市國小國中學生體位肥胖比例，都低於全國的14.41%、18.32%，也進一步分析全市整體肥胖率攀升原因，主要是偏區隔代教養和單親家庭居多，較少注意學童飲食的均衡狀況，加上疫情期間缺少適當運動。