The strong economic growth in China has been seen for the past decade. This, however, has also brought along some serious health problems to the country.
According to a report by Xinhua news agency, there are now more than 40 million people in China have diabetes or a precursor. As a result of growing wealth, most Chinese eat more and exercise less, causing the number of diabetic patients to increase. The 20 million diabetics found in China are obesity-related while the other 20 million people have impaired glucose tolerance or what we call "a per-diabetic condition".
Last year, there are about 60 million people (roughly the population of France) were classified as obese. 12 percent of children in China's big cities are also considered to be overweight. The parents are thus advised to limit their children's intake of fast food, snacks and soft drinks and the time they spend watching TV and playing computer games. Sound familiar?
Either you like it or not, people with health issues such as diabetes and obesity are likely to be candidates of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, etc, if they do not manage their conditions appropriately.
China, once a poor country where its people were struggling for food, is now having health problems similar to that of its so-called capitalist counterparts. With the continual economic growth, more and more people are wealthier. If they are also adopting the similar unhealthy lifestyle, then the number of people with various health problems is likely to increase tremandously. Being the largest nation in the world (in term of its population), the social cost resulting from such health problems will definitely be increasing by many folds and becoming a very heavy burden for China.
According to a report by Xinhua news agency, there are now more than 40 million people in China have diabetes or a precursor. As a result of growing wealth, most Chinese eat more and exercise less, causing the number of diabetic patients to increase. The 20 million diabetics found in China are obesity-related while the other 20 million people have impaired glucose tolerance or what we call "a per-diabetic condition".
Last year, there are about 60 million people (roughly the population of France) were classified as obese. 12 percent of children in China's big cities are also considered to be overweight. The parents are thus advised to limit their children's intake of fast food, snacks and soft drinks and the time they spend watching TV and playing computer games. Sound familiar?
Either you like it or not, people with health issues such as diabetes and obesity are likely to be candidates of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, etc, if they do not manage their conditions appropriately.
China, once a poor country where its people were struggling for food, is now having health problems similar to that of its so-called capitalist counterparts. With the continual economic growth, more and more people are wealthier. If they are also adopting the similar unhealthy lifestyle, then the number of people with various health problems is likely to increase tremandously. Being the largest nation in the world (in term of its population), the social cost resulting from such health problems will definitely be increasing by many folds and becoming a very heavy burden for China.
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