Chinese are getting fatter and taller: Survey

 

Beijing: In a sign of a country's growing affluence, Chinese are getting taller and fatter than ever before, according to a survey. China is a growing nation in more ways than one, says an official study of the nation's physical fitness level, which claims Chinese are taller and fatter than ever before. The scale-tipping report, released by the General Administration of Sport said a total 32.7 per cent of all adults are "overweight", an increase of 0.6 per cent compared with a 2010 survey.

 

Overweight is defined in the study as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) or weight divided by height of 24 or greater. The bulk of growth was among the nation's elderly. A total 41.6 per cent of seniors are overweight, up by 1.8 per cent compared with the previous study, state-run Global Times reported. Chinese women fared better overall as 91.9 per cent met the country's physical fitness standards. Men, however, were at 89.6 per cent, a 0.1 per cent drop.  In addition, China's boys have gotten taller.

 

The survey pegged the average height of 7-year-old boys at 126.6 centimeters, up by 1.1 centimeters since 2010. Shanghai residents are the fittest in the nation. Conducted in 2014, China's fourth national fitness report surveyed 531,849 people between ages 3 and 69, the media report said. Jointly carried out by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology and another eight departments, the study focused on factors such as body shape, physical performance and overall health.