China’s Obesity Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines provide provisions for clinical nutrition, surgery, behavioral intervention, psychology, and exercise.
China’s National Health Commission (NHC) has just published the first set of guidelines to standardize the diagnosis and treatment of obesity. The guidelines were published on October 17 in the context of an increasing trend in the proportion of overweight and obese people in China, with more than 50% of adults affected… NHC predicts this number may increase. to 65.3% by 2030.
According to the guide, “obesity has become a major public health problem in China, ranking sixth among the risk factors for death and disability.”
The country now faces a dual challenge that causes weight problems. The modern economy is based on technology, forcing workers in many fields to sit in one place while working. Meanwhile, economic growth is slow, forcing people to choose cheap and less healthy diets.
Job stress, long working hours and poor diet are high risk factors for obesity in urban areas. In rural areas, farm work is increasingly less physically demanding, while the health system has not adequately met the need to screen and treat weight problems.
Patients chat with each other at a weight loss center in Changchun, Jilin province, northeastern China. Image: Reuters
“The guideline provides regulations on clinical nutrition, surgery, behavioral intervention, psychology and exercise,” said Mr. Zhang Zhongtao, deputy director of Beijing Friendship Hospital, chairman of the guideline drafting committee. guide, tell.
In July 2024, NHC and 15 other Chinese government agencies launched a three-year public awareness campaign on obesity prevention, centered around eight slogans: “Lifelong commitment, monitoring activities, balanced diet, physical activity, good sleep, setting reasonable weight loss goals and family actions”.
Also in July, primary and secondary schools are disseminated health guidance, encouraging regular screening, daily exercise, hiring nutritionists and implementing healthy eating habits: reducing salt , grease and sugar.
According to Xinhua News Agency, obesity in China is “an unintended consequence of improving living standards”. Before the reform and opening-up period in the late 1970s, China struggled to feed its population, and malnutrition was a real concern for many families.