IJERPH, Vol. 16, Pages 323: Interventional Effects of Weight-Loss Policy in a Healthy City among Participants with Metabolic Syndrome (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)

This study aimed to establish a friendly environment of active living and healthy eating for citizens while promoting and increasing knowledge of healthy exercise. Acquisition of physical activity skills and citizens’ lifestyle changes result in reduction in rates of obesity and deaths related to underlying metabolism syndrome. This study used a non-experimental cross-sectional design to survey residents living in Taiwan’s rural Miaoli County. The inclusion criterion was positive screening for metabolic syndrome. In total, 2068 participants were recruited, and 1886 questionnaires (91.2%) were completed. An organization-spreading strategy and home convenient Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability tactic were applied to the assessment, promotion, evaluation, and planning of the project via an obesity-causing environmental scan, oriental synergy aerobics, acupuncture points massage, guide books, broadcasting, town-based “shape-it-station”, and a vending cart created to facilitate the acquisition of healthy foods. After the intervention, results revealed that health condition, regular exercise habits, diet behavior, metabolic syndrome cognition, and body weight became better than before. Appropriate promotion of healthy cities through public health measures may effectively reduce the threat of death due to metabolic syndrome, which in turn reduces overall, and represents successful control of a typical non-communicable disease.