Waistlines stretching fast: official data

More than 30 percent of Chinese adults were overweight in 2012, with the rate surging 32 percent from a decade ago, census data released yesterday by the National Health and Family Planning Commission showed. According to the “2015 Report on Chinese Nutrition and Chronic Disease”, 9.6 percent of those aged six to 17 were overweight, double the rate in 2002. The obesity rate among adults was 11.9 percent, a rise of 67.6 percent from 2002, and 6.4 percent among children and adolescents, tripling that of 2002. The report said China has a greater proportion of overweight and obese people than developed countries. Chinese consume more fat than is officially recommended, but fewer cereals, vegetables and fruit, and still fewer beans and dairy products. It took researchers one and a half years to finish the report, which was based on data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Center and other institutes. China had its first public nutrition and health survey in 2002, with the results announced in 2004. Since 2004, the nation has carried out field surveys every three years to collect data on causes of death, chronic disease and other health issues.

Heavy rains kill 15, leave 19 missing

Four days of heavy rain have caused severe flooding in central China, killing at least 15 people and leaving 19 others missing, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs said yesterday. The deaths in four provinces and one municipality were from drownings, mudslides and house collapses, the ministry said. Up to 51.4 centimeters of rain fell in the eastern city of Changzhou from Friday to Monday, and water levels of rivers and lakes were dangerously high in a six-province region across the country’s central part, the ministry said. Millions of people have been affected by the heavy rains since Friday and tens of thousands were relocated, the ministry said. Heavy rain in southern China earlier in June left at least 18 people dead. Heavy rains often trigger landslides and flooding, partly because of China’s mountainous terrain and the erosion of soil from decades of development, including infrastructure construction.