Hong Kong men tend to be more hot-tempered and women more prone to forgetfulness, say herbalists at a public clinic who tested hundreds of patients over six months last year. Both sexes lack sleep and tire easily, they also found.
The Centre of Integrated Health Management at Kwong Wah Hospital, which opened in May, divides health into nine 'body constitutions' - balanced, idiosyncratic, qi-deficient, yang-deficient, yin-deficient, phlegm-damp, damp-heat, qi-stagnant and blood-stasis.
Qi is a concept in traditional medicine that roughly translates into the Western idea of life force or spiritual energy. The categories were developed in 2005 by Wang Qi, a leading academic at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.
Eight constitutions, excluding the 'balanced' type, are deemed detrimental to long-term health.
Of 829 people who had their health assessed at the centre between May and October, most men fell into the damp-heat category while most women were qi-deficient.
Damp-heat people are hot-tempered and easily agitated, according to traditional medicine. They have oily skin, are prone to acne, and are more likely to develop jaundice.