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China to Have 200 Million Obese Citizens in 10 Years

Posted on: Saturday, 18 June 2005, 09:15 CDT

China to have 200 million obese citizens in 10 years

BEIJING, June 18 (Xinhua) -- China is expected in 10 years to have at least 200 million people who suffer from obesity, a disease that carries the danger of early death, Chinese medical experts have warned.

China has now over 90 million obese people, whose weight exceeds the standard 20 percent, according to the Information Times.

Obesity easily causes diabetes, gall-stones, cardiovascular diseases and hepatomegaly, said Zhang Zhongcheng, chief doctor with Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

"The danger of early death for fat people is 1.3 to 2 times greater than for ordinary people," he was quoted as saying by the Guangzhou-based newspaper.

Additionally, heaviness pressures the spine and the lower limbs, which could bring on pain in parts of the body and even malformation, he said.

Unlike what most people think, fat people, along with the thin, are patients who are suffering from a nutritional disturbance for lack of certain nutritional elements, said Deng Aimin, vice-chief doctor with Guangzhou Liuhuaqiao Hospital.

"The fat children, for instance, usually lack iron and calcium, " he was quoted as saying.

Experts say obesity mainly comes of unhealthy lifestyles, which feature a excessive eating and little exercise. Genetics factor also contribute 16 percent.

Among the obese, children are the most disturbing. 10 percent are obese and the number is undergoing an annual 8 percent increase, the paper quoted Chen Chaogang, chief doctor of The Second Hospital of the Zhongshan University, as saying.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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