Chinese hospitals are promoting the prevention of obesity on May 11th. In Chinese, the date sounds like 'I want a waist'. A new study shows there are now more adults in the world being classified as obese than underweight. And it says China has outnumbered the US to have the world's highest number of obese people. For health and beauty concerns, some are turning to doctors for help.
Putting fewer calories into the mouth each meal. Xiao Yun, which is not her real name, says her weight doesn't go down despite she is watching her diet. She began to put on extra kilos after giving birth to her child more than 10 years ago.
"I think lifestyle is very important. I don't have a habit of doing exercises. I have been taking in calories but not burning them away. I think work-life balance, stress and environmental pollution are also playing a factor," Xiao said.
Xiao Yun finally decided to seek help from the doctors, as she has developed bad sleeping patterns and health issues due to her weight issue. She went to doctor Yuan's clinic, which opens once a week, and accepts only ten patients each session. Doctor Yuan says her clinic has seen an increased flow of patients in the recent years.
"Loosing weight has always been a hot topic, a lot people have the issue. The most common type we see are simple obesity, which is caused by eating too much and exercising less," Yuan Zhenfang, obesity doctor with Peking University First Hospital, said.
At this obesity clinic, the average age of patients are 38 years old, most of them women. The first piece of advice they get here is to go on a low or extremely low calorie diet."
A study by Lancet medical journal says China has more than 43 million obese men and 46 million obese women, the highest numbers in the world and slightly more than those of the US. And the WHO chief in China is calling for people to lead a healthy lifestyle.
" There clearly is a link between income and wealth and obesity as a risk factor for diabetes... We hope more people would understand the connection between unhealthy lifestyles and the health of their bodies. If they change their lifestyles, they can live long, healthy with confidence and without any problems," Dr. Bernhard Schwartlander, WHO representative in China, said.
Xiao Yun has been prescribed to take regular acupuncture sessions. And the doctor expects her to loose 10 percent of her weight within a month. She is happy that her health is finally going back to the right track.
