Obesity rising due to fondness for fat
Print Edition
MORE than 30 percent of Chinese adults were overweight in 2012, with the rate surging 32 percent from a decade ago, according to a survey by the National Health and Family Planning Commission.
According to the “2015 Report on Chinese Nutrition and Chronic Disease,” 9.6 percent of children aged 6 to 17 were overweight, double the rate in 2002.
The obesity rate among adults was 11.9 percent, a rise of 67.6 percent from 2002, and 6.4 percent among children and adolescents, a rate triple that of 2002.
The report said China has a greater proportion of overweight and obese people than developed countries.
Chinese consume more fat than is officially recommended, but less cereal, vegetables, fruit and dairy products, it noted.
The report stressed that being overweight causes an array of chronic disease and particularly weighs on children’s health.
However, China made headway in relieving malnutrition during the 2002-2012 period, according to the survey.
It found adult malnutrition was at 6 percent in 2012, a decrease of 2.5 percentage points from 2002.
Child malnutrition, measured by stunted height and insufficient body mass, was also lower.
Stunted growth was at 3.2 percent among children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years old, a decrease of 3.1 percentage points since 2002, and emaciation was at 9 percent, a decrease of 4.4 percentage points, according to the report.
Anemia, once a major nutritional problem for Chinese, also decreased. According to the report, the prevalence of anemia among children 6 years and above was 9.7 percent in 2012, a decrease of 10.4 percentage points from 2002.
But the report noted that malnutrition still threatens the development of many children in poor rural areas.
The country has taken various actions to address the problem, including subsidizing nutritious meals for rural students, said Chang Jile, a commission official.
The survey was based on data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Center and other institutes.
China’s first health survey was carried out in 2002, with results announced in 2004. Since then, surveys every three years collect data on health issues.
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