China Medical News

The World Obesity Federation has predicted that Chinese youth will top the world in obesity by 2025. The report shows how the obesity rate in China has been growing, and that if the trend continues, obese children and teenagers aged between 5 and 18 in Chinese mainland will reach 48.5 million by 2025, a number that surpasses the total population of Spain. Obese youth is estimated to reach 7.3 million in India, and 16.7 million in the US. In 2013, China ranked 8th in the world's top 20 countries with the fastest growing youth obesity rate. The top three are Vietnam, Azerbaijan and Serbia. The report cautions against the rate of obesity in children in rural China.

Alongside the rising obesity rate among Chinese youth, millions of them are estimated to suffer from diseases such as fatty liver, diabetes, high blood pressure and low glucose tolerance.
The State Council released guidelines in 2011 responding to the increase of obese children in China. The guideline for the development of Chinese youth, set between 2011 and 2020, aimed to prevent more children from becoming obese. The guideline urges local authorities in China to strengthen the training of medical staff around children's health and promote the knowledge of balanced eating and drinking habits among their parents. (Source: South China Morning Post)