I guess not. The celebrities here probably worship the Japanese/Korean style more.
I remember on an entertainment news magazine (People?), it once mentioned two current trends in Hollywood: baby boom and tooth-pick thin. Lindsay Lohan was the target of being “tooth-pick thin.” The magazine said her height equaled to 168 centimenters and her weight was 52 kilos.But you know what? Her figure is just about the standard of a model in Taiwan~ Some (most) Taiwanese celebrities are rather sick for thinness.
It’s exaggerating.
Being fat or not depends on your skeleton, in line with your height.
I admit that Taiwanese have a stricter standard of fitness than westerners do but not everyone here is that crazy about it (unless you happen to be surrounded by that kind of people :help:).
I don’t think Taiwanese would criticize others for being fat to their face though they may speak “ill” of them in back. 
[/quote][quote][/quote]
Bollocks on two counts.
First, whether you are fat or not does not depend on your skeleton. It, duh, depends on how much body fat you have. If you are more prone to developing muscle, or have a larger bone structure then you may look bigger, but you are certainly not fatter.
Second, yes, Taiwanese do criticise people to their face for being fat. It happens to me with irritating regularity. Not all Taiwanese people, and not all the time. But yes, it happens.
[quote=“gcat”]Bollocks on two counts.
First, whether you are fat or not does not depend on your skeleton. It, duh, depends on how much body fat you have. If you are more prone to developing muscle, or have a larger bone structure then you may look bigger, but you are certainly not fatter.
Second, yes, Taiwanese do criticise people to their face for being fat. It happens to me with irritating regularity. Not all Taiwanese people, and not all the time. But yes, it happens.[/quote]
Sorry to double bollocks you gcat but skeleton and fat do not necessarily go together but they can.
[quote]There are 3 basic categories of body types:
body types [color=blue]endomorph[/color] ectomorph mesomorph
It is important to note that there are no individuals that are 100% endomorph, ectomorph or mesomorph. Each of us displays a mixture of body type characteristics although one body type usually dominates.
[color=blue]Endomorph Body Types are often characterised with big bones, round face, large trunk and thighs and a naturally high degree of body fat,[/color] especially around the midsection. Endomorphs usually struggle to control their weight although it may simply mean more determination is needed for an endomorph to lose as much weight as a mesomorph. [/quote]
[quote=“Springfield”]I hear, as most of you say, that the Taiwanese are pretty fat-phobic and are weirded out by people who weigh over 50kg…
Well isn’t 50kg like 110 pounds!? How am i supposed to weigh 110 pounds? Currently i weigh 170 and I only have a small bit of belly fat, but i’m currently working it off.
I’m a pretty tall kid and when I get to my desired weight i’m still going to be like 160…
So… how skinny is skinny in Taiwan. If you have even a LITTLE bit of belly fat will they like beat me with bats and yell at me or will they overlook it since i’m white :P[/quote]
They won’t beat you with bats, or anything else for that matter but they will stare, and point, and say things to you in Chinese/Taiwanese that you don’t understand but they will do these things anyway.
If you really want to conform then I suggest extreme dieting or maybe the loss of a body part or two. I myself am 98KG down from 103 about 10 days ago when someone pointed out how “large” I was getting.
Actually, I’ve gotten more disparaging remarks about my weight on forumosa than I have from the taiwanese in at least the last three years. And working with kids, that says a lot.
When I first got here, the kids asked if I had a baby inside. And I said no that I just ate too much McDonald’s and candy when I was their age (a lie since I was an athlete for most of high school and didn’t become overweight until I was 17 years old, thanks to being pumped with steroids for three years during my chemotherapy). It served in two ways - it stopped the comments immediately and it decreased the number of Happy Meals being brought in for lunch. 
I haven’t had to field that question or any comments about my weight from the kids in my school except maybe once or twice. Once a nurse made a comment about my weight when I did my health exam and I asked her, “Ni ting de dong ‘rude’ ma?” From the look on her face, it seemed like she did. This year, to my delight, the nurse was plump herself and was very friendly.
What I find sad, is that I have worked with a bunch of, I suppose, “normal-sized” female co-workers who dress like slobs. Meanwhile I can find nice clothes in my size with relative ease considering the average body size of the majority of women here. I’ve taken up wearing a skirt everyday for teaching my elementary school students in a summer camp class since I am continually practicing the professionalism I wish to show when I start teaching in the US (I try to do at least one idea every few weeks that brings me closer to that stage). I envy them for the potential, inexpensive wardrobe that lies at their disposal where I have to do some serious digging to find things that not only fit me, but that look as good on me as one can when they have my shape and still be within my tastes. It doesn’t help that I have feet, as one forumosan jokingly put it, “the size of a boat” which makes shoe shopping so much fun 
. Yet I have one co-worker who regularly comes to work wearing faded silk-screen t-shirts, ratty-looking capri jeans, and flip flops that look like they were left in the shower by a former tenant and she just took up wearing them outdoors. Yet she can’t figure out why her students don’t show her respect.
Personally, I find their dress more offensive than any weight comment I’ve received about myself, but perhaps that’s because I was raised to take pride in the way I present myself to others. It baffles me how even when my family got our clothes as hand-me-downs from my mother’s co-workers and did our back-to-school clothes shopping at Goodwill and had to wash our clothes in the bathtub by hand between the monthly trip to the laundromat across town, we still dressed better than my co-worker does.
[quote=“ImaniOU”]…it decreased the number of Happy Meals being brought in for lunch. [/quote]Got to be a good thing! I thought that only happened in the UK.
Jamie Oliver’s campaign for healthy school lunches in the UK is truly inspirational. I know some people complain about the greasy vegetables in some school lunches here, but at least the kids get some vegetables, and eat them. In the UK, there are a lot of kids who hardly ever eat any fresh fruit or vegetables. This has lead to a lot of pessimism from school lunch policy-makers. But the situation is changing, largely due to Oliver’s efforts in persuading large numbers of kids to try decent food – and like it!
endomorph
Some of my best friends are endomorphs,.
I don’t think Taiwanese would criticize others for being fat to their face though they may speak “ill” of them in back. :p[/quote][quote][/quote]
yes, Taiwanese do criticise people to their face for being fat. It happens to me with irritating regularity. Not all Taiwanese people, and not all the time. But yes, it happens.[/quote]
Well, it never happened to me nor I’ve seen people doing that to others unless friends (couples) were bantering or kids pointed it out straight.
[quote=“Bubba 2 Guns”]endomorph
Some of my best friends are endomorphs,. [/quote]
Yes, endomorphs are jolly people as a rule. I know some lovely people who tip the scales and as long as their health is not at risk good luck to them.
I actually got the little pot belly I was working on under control due to being prodded in the wobbly bit by Taiwanese females on a regular basis. They had seen me skinny and were simply remarking casually on the new round wobbly addition as a curiosity. No malice intended.
I’m working back a new wobbly bit right now due to going to Australia and indulging in a daily passion for large mint chocolate smoothie things with cream on top.
No doubt about it, I’m fat, whether here or in the US (but thankfully at least in the US there are women who make me look svelte), but so far I’ve only had one two people come out and say it to my face. One was the doctor who did my health exam, and the other was my friend’s aunt, who told me I had a pretty face but I should do something about my body. Oh well, at least I’m pretty 
Other than that, most people to whom I’ve said, “Gawd, I’m so FAT!” have responded with, “Na li, na li!” So, yes, there are some very polite folks here.
I saw a bumper sticker once that said, “I may be fat, but you’re ugly, and I can diet.” Always cracked me up, and I guess the Chinese would go something like 雖然我是胖的﹐可是你很醜﹐而且我也可以減肥。
Heh alright thanks.
Na Li means where right!? Yesss im getting better at chinese 
I dont look fat with my shirt on anyway so the only way someone would know is if i took off my shirt.
This is totally and completely off topic but do they swim alot in Taiwan? House im sure dont have enough room for swimming pools so do kids go to like public pools?
[quote=“500CBFan”]No doubt about it, I’m fat, whether here or in the US (but thankfully at least in the US there are women who make me look svelte), but so far I’ve only had one two people come out and say it to my face. One was the doctor who did my health exam, and the other was my friend’s aunt, who told me I had a pretty face but I should do something about my body. Oh well, at least I’m pretty Other than that, most people to whom I’ve said, “Gawd, I’m so FAT!” have responded with, “Na li, na li!” So, yes, there are some very polite folks here.
I saw a bumper sticker once that said, “I may be fat, but you’re ugly, and I can diet.” Always cracked me up, and I guess the Chinese would go something like 雖然我是胖的﹐可是你很醜﹐而且我也可以減肥。[/quote]
Either you are a crackhead or I am, because I have never noticed that you are “fat”.
It’s exaggerating.
Being fat or not depends on your skeleton, in line with your height.
I admit that Taiwanese have a stricter standard of fitness than westerners do but not everyone here is that crazy about it (unless you happen to be surrounded by that kind of people :help:).[/quote][quote][/quote]
First, whether you are fat or not does not depend on your skeleton. It, duh, depends on how much body fat you have. If you are more prone to developing muscle, or have a larger bone structure then you may look bigger, but you are certainly not fatter.[/quote]
I understand what you mean and agree on it.
I knew a well-buit guy whose weight was 90 kilos with the height of 185 centimeters. He looked perfectly fit though the profile didn’t appear impressive.
What I was talking about was purely to please the eye. 
A 165-centimeter person with 55 kilos looks thinner than a 155-centimeter one with the same weight. Also, two people with the same height, the one with largerer skeleton usually looks fatter/bigger.
T’ain’t me 
! Maybe you weren’t wearing your glasses? Good Goddess, dear, I’m way fat. OK, maybe not obese, but fat, yes. I’m thinner than I once was, but then again, I’m also fatter than I once was. However, I seriously doubt I’ll ever see 115 pounds again. Ours was a very short acquaintance. I remember how much I used to bitch and moan when I weighed 135 pounds. I’d probably kill for that now.
I think Whomever is in change in this universe has an extremely warped sense of humor, since 99% of the food that tastes so delicious is bad for us. Someday, when I have the chance, I’ll ask Her why. Until then, the prayers for chocolate, pizza, beer, and tequila (the four major food groups) to magically become healthy and sans calories will continue.
Is like all Taiwanese food bad for you?
The moms probably gonna cook like 5 meals a day for me since im the guest… and i don’t want to get huge just by eating the food she cooks me
I might have to put my foot down and just say NO! STOP COOKING!
[quote=“Springfield”]Is like all Taiwanese food bad for you?
The moms probably gonna cook like 5 meals a day for me since im the guest… and I don’t want to get huge just by eating the food she cooks me
I might have to put my foot down and just say NO! STOP COOKING![/quote]
It can be like being in the fattening pen being force fed. You can get into a lot of trouble for not eating a lot when you visit local families. One method is to eat very small mouthfulls so you appear to be eating all the time.
Don’t forget to make lots of lip smacking noise and burp and fart regularly to fit in.
If there is no Western food such as breads, biscuits and dairy/cake desserts and not too much protein then you’re pretty safe anyway with local food.
Springfield, an idea would be to bring a good-sized bottle of multi-vitamins, and have Mom send you more when you run out. The food here is so fried and over-cooked that most, if not all, of its nutritional value is lost.
And, Taiwanese aren’t usually big fans of salads. You can find them here at buffets and the like, but generally speaking, I get comments made when I bring salads or raw veggies to work that I am going to get worms if I eat them. There is a general feeling that if it isn’t cooked, it isn’t good.
Than how the hell is everyone so skinny!?!?
I guess it’s down to a quick metabolism…but I’m not sure.
When I watch these 5 lb women eating cake in the middle of the afternoon. Or when I go out to eat and see the absolute crap that these people put in their bodies, I wonder the same thign. Especially when you add in that most people here don’t work out.
As dire as everyone makes it seem, though, what you eat here is a choice. I weigh 15 k less now than I did when I got here. I don’t eat fried foods. I eat vegetables every meal. I don’t eat white rice. You choose it.