Chinese People are Growing Taller and Getting Fatter Even Faster

The average Chinese man was 167.1 centimeters (5.48 feet) tall and weighed 66.2 kilograms (146 pounds) in 2012, while women's average height was 155.8 centimeters, and weighed 57.3 kilograms. However, a new government report on national nutrition and chronic diseases suggested that Chinese people are growing taller as the country becomes richer but they are getting fatter even faster. Wang Guoqiang, a vice director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said, "The proportion of Chinese over-18 years who were overweight stood at 30.1% in 2012, up 7.3% points over a decade. The obesity rate had risen by 4.8% points to 11.9%, a two-thirds increase. The problem of overweight and obesity is rising sharply as the dietary make-up has changed."

Males were found to have put on an average 3.5 kilograms over 10 years, while women were 2.9 kilograms heavier. Wang said, "Smoking, excessive drinking of alcohol, insufficient physical exercises and unhealthy diet such as high salt and fat consumption are the main behavior risk factors that trigger and worsen chronic diseases. Pressures brought by the rapid development and transformation of the economy and society on people's life and work have also caused impact on health."

The height of the average Chinese man was up by 0.4 centimeters and 0.7 centimeters for women. Liang Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "The numbers made Chinese people slightly shorter than their neighbors in Japan and South Korea."

A report published in The Lancet last year revealed that 363,000 fatalities in China each year were linked to high body-mass index, an indicator for heart disease, diabetes and other ailments.

Source-AFP