A survey on citizens' nutrition and health

China conducts a nationwide survey on the nutrition and health condition of its citizens every 10 years. The latest survey result shows that, early in 2002, there were nearly 300 million overweight or obese people in China.

The overweight rate among adults over 18 in China hit 22.8 percent, and the obesity rate reached 7.1 percent. The adults in large cities had the highest overweight rate of 30 percent. Between 1992 and 2002, the total population of overweight and obese groups around the country increased by 100 million.

Levels of overweight people and obesity have become a protruding health problem among urban children and teenagers. According to a 2005 nationwide survey on students' physique and health, for urban boys aged between 7 and 22, the overweight rate and obesity rate was 13.25 percent and 11.39 percent respectively, a rise of 1.4 percentage points and 2.7 percentage points comparing to the year 2000.

Yang Xiaoguang, a researcher in Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, holds that in the next 10 to 20 years, the prevalence of obesity and related chronic diseases will go up dramatically. If we don't take strong action, the proportion of inhabitants with normal weight will drop from the current 70 percent to around 35 percent.