Young nutritionist tweeting to fame

Working as a dietitian at the Beijing Friendship Hospital, 25-year-old Gu Zhongyi, who's Internet and communication savvy, has been micro-blogging for more than a year at Sina Weibo, a Chinese micro-blogging website.

Of his roughly 1,600 postings, most are about nutrition and keeping in good health. They have attracted more than 270,000 followers so far, the second-largest tally among micro-blogging health professionals in Beijing.

Every day he shares his expertise with clear and humorous postings.

One of his most commented-on postings goes like this: "Francis Bacon once wrote that knowledge, pronounced similar to cheese in Chinese, is power, liliang in Chinese. In my opinion, bacon plus cheese is just reliang, literally fat."

Topics like dieting, weight loss and nutrition tips are among the hottest, he said.

Such information "appeals especially to young netizens who need useful information but nothing boring or rigid," said the nutrition major, who graduated from medical school in 2009.

In his photo on the micro blog, Gu looks like a student, bespectacled and smiling.

"I never imagined that he was that young," said Zhou Ying, a Beijing-based journalist who has interviewed Gu on food safety. She got to know him also via the micro blog.

"Compared with veteran experts, he's more easygoing and patient with the media," she said.

In the past two months, each day he has received at least one media inquiry about issues such as nutrition, health and food safety.

The number of people consulting him at the hospital also increased and "some are my micro blog fans", he said.

While he recognizes the benefits, Gu said that micro-blogging is a double-edged sword.

"I have so many fans now, some laymen, some health professionals. They are all watching me closely and I have to be careful about each posting," he said.

He recalled a post about a study showing that enhanced calcium consumption would help reverse pregnancy-induced hypertension, which triggered criticism by peer doctors that the claim might mislead patients.

Given the current strained doctor-patient relationships in China, his hospital asked him to take its name off his micro blog to avert potential trouble and misunderstanding.

"I did it and fully understand their concerns", he said.

He's made his own rules for micro-blogging: no false or unsubstantiated statements, no violation of patient privacy and nothing that could be taken as a diagnosis or prescribed treatment.

"Medical care is complex and can hardly be well-conducted with 140-character postings. We have to be responsible for patients," he said.