Half of China overweight Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

To effectively address the rising trend of overweight and obesity while promoting healthier living habits, many regions in China, including East China's Zhejiang Province and East China's Shandong Province, have launched initiatives encouraging residents to adopt better weight management practices.

At present, approximately 10.4 percent of children under the age of six are overweight or obese, while nearly 20 percent of China's population between the ages of 6 and 17 is classified as overweight or obese, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The Health Commission of Zhejiang Province, together with the provincial educational department and sports bureau and other 15 departments, formulated an implementation plan to foster societal awareness and practical skills for weight management, and to broadly establish a supportive environment for weight management, and to further popularize the healthy life style, according to The Paper, a Shanghai-based media, on Monday.

The plan points out that at the family level, healthy weight should be embraced as a core aspect of family well-being. People are encouraged to make weight management a part of healthy family construction, and use tools such as scales, waist rulers, and weight management calendars. 

The plan also encourages people to regularly measure their weight and waist circumference, ensuring they are aware of healthy weight standards, their own weight changes, weight management methods, and how to scientifically manage their weight.

Residents are expected to acquire knowledge and skills in scientific nutrition and cooking. They should adopt dietary habits that limit refined grains, red meat, oil, salt, and sugar, while increasing the intake of coarse grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts in appropriate amounts. Additionally, they are encouraged to engage in regular physical activities as a family.

Schools should ensure that students engage in one hour of physical activity time daily, both on and off campus, and avoid selling foods high in salt, sugar and fat on campus, the plan said.

Medical and health institutions are encouraged to set up weight management clinics or obesity prevention and treatment centers. These institutions should develop a multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment (MDT) model for obesity to provide one-stop, integrated diagnostic and treatment services.

The proportion of overweight and obesity among the elderly in Shanghai exceeds 50 percent, while the rate among children and adolescents is over 34 percent, higher than the national average and trending upward. In response, Shanghai has also introduced a series of measures in recent years to help residents manage their weight and combat obesity, as reported by The Paper. 

Shanghai has been distributing "health gift packs" to all citizens for many years, including dietary and nutritional knowledge booklets and tools such as salt-control spoons and oil-control jugs, according to the report.

Additionally, the relevant authorities in Shanghai encourage primary healthcare organizations to incorporate weight management into their contracted services. 

For key groups such as children, adolescents, the elderly, and workers, Shandong Province and its relevant departments have implemented activities such as carrying out a daily 10,000-step walking activities, recognition programs for weight management volunteers, and the promotion of workplace exercises during breaks.

Shandong Province also popularizes appropriate traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) techniques to facilitate weight control. The relevant departments have developed a combined traditional Chinese and Western medicine intervention program to support healthy body weight and provided TCM-based weight management services for various groups.

Global Times