More than 50 per cent of the adult population in China has become overweight or obese, a top Chinese public health expert said on Wednesday.
Zhao Wenhua, the Chief Nutrition Expert at China’s Centre of Disease Control, said this during a news conference.
Top Chinese public health officials on Wednesday released a report on nutrition and chronic conditions among Chinese residents.
“Results from the latest survey showed that more than 50 per cent of adults in our country are now overweight or obese.
The obesity rate is around 20 per cent for children between 6-17 years old and 10 per cent for children under the age of six,” Zhao said.
According to the report, the average weight for Chinese adults over 18 was 69.6 kilograms (153.4 pounds) for men and 59 kilograms for women, up 3.4 kilograms and 1.7 kilograms, respectively, from the national average in 2015.
The average height among Chinese adults aged between 18-44 was 169.7 centimeters [5.7 feet] for men and 158 centimeters for women, the report said.
As living standards for Chinese residents continue to improve in recent years thanks to the nation’s rapid economic growth, the biggest public health concern in the country moved from malnutrition to chronic diseases associated with obesity. (Sputnik/NAN)
