Guangdong people are not only getting fatter and unhealthier, but have also not grown any taller in the past five years because of their diet, a survey has found.
The survey of more than 60,000 Guangdong people aged from three to 69 found that only 9.8 per cent of adults were in excellent health, 6.5 percentage points less than the previous survey in 2000. The percentage of people with generally good constitutions also dropped six percentage points to 22.7 per cent, according to a China News Service report.
The report said adult respondents had also grown fatter, with 5.3 per cent of males being obese and 28.9 per cent overweight, while 4.2 per cent of females were considered obese and 21.7 per cent overweight.
The rises were mainly due to a lack of exercise and excessive intake of animal fat, according to Li Jie, director of the Guangdong Institute of Physical Studies. The survey found that more than half of adults and nearly 45 per cent of senior citizens never exercised.
Mr Li said Guangdong people should watch their weight even though they were not considered fat on the national scale.
'Guangdong people think they will lose weight if they drink more soup, but soup often contains animal fat and that won't help people lose weight,' Mr Li was quoted as saying.