TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As Taiwan is on the threshold of becoming a super-aged society, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) has launched a subsidy program to fund the establishment of 288 public gyms for seniors across the country by 2025, the HPA said in a press release on Wednesday (Feb. 16).

According to the HPA, over 20% of Taiwan’s population will be over 65 years old by 2025.

The HPA will allot a total of NT$288 million (US$10.37 million) into the program over the next few years until 2025 and work with local governments to utilize vacant and seldom used spaces to achieve the goal of encouraging more seniors in the country to exercise by providing more easily accessible fitness centers for them, according to the release.



According to an investigation early this year, 16.9% of Taiwan’s population are over 65 years old, which amounts to 3.94 million people, HPA deputy director-general Chia Shu-li (賈淑麗) said in a press conference on Wednesday, CNA reported. As the prevalence rate of sarcopenia in Taiwan is 7%, it is estimated that about 300,000 seniors in the country have such a condition, which can increase their risk of disability, Chia added.

She pointed out that 14 public fitness clubs for seniors previously set up across the country on a trial basis have a total of 703 regular members, which amounts to 50 for each. On average, they use the fitness centers three times per week, she added.

HPA Community Health Division head Lo Su-ying (羅素英) said that the muscle strength of the seniors who have been attending the 14 gyms has increased by about 30%, and their levels of depression and appetite have also improved significantly.

However, as the program is relatively new, it takes more time to see how much attending the program will improve sarcopenia for some seniors and how much these facilities will encourage those who are unwilling to leave their home to go out and work out, per CNA.

(YouTube, HPA video)