Experts warn of Beijing obesity epidemic

More than half of the 2.3 million Beijingers who underwent a health check in 2010 have weight problems.

According to a report released Saturday from Beijing Physical Examination Center, 51 percent were overweight.

The report highlighted the top 10 threats to Beijing residents aged over 18. Obesity, osteoporosis and a fatty liver are the main causes of disease among both males and females.

"Beijing long ago entered the era of obesity," said Yu Shibei, chief analyst of health statistics at the Beijing Ciming Checkup Group.

"The lives of many residents, especially those aged from 21 to 30, are very irregular. They work hard from morning till night, don't exercise much, and eat lots of fast food and greasy boxed lunches, leading to obesity and a fatty liver."

"People in big cities like Beijing should exercise more in order to balance the calories they take in, making an effort to keep disease at bay," said Yu.

In the report, over 32 percent of men were overweight, while 17 percent and 15 percent suffer from high blood pressure and high cholesterol respectively. Osteoporosis tops the list for most prevalent disease among women in Beijing, while weight issues came second.

"The past years have witnessed a fast growth in the number of overweight people, including children, in Beijing," said Li Shilian, a doctor who treats obesity at Beijing Children's Hospital, "each day we see 20 overweight children."

"Half inherit the disease, and half are overweight because of an unhealthy lifestyle. Childhood obesity influences health for life," Li said.

For the last 10 years, Chinese gained the same amount of weight as residents of Western countries put on over the last 30 years, said a national physical condition monitoring report in 2010, which was conducted by the General Administration of Sport of China and released last year.