China Builds Obesity Clinic And Encourages Healthy Lifestyle

Illustration of the obese clinic (Freepik/EyeEm)

JAKARTA China is currently experiencing a rapidly growing wave of health trends. If previously losing weight was a personal struggle, now the government has intervened with various policies that support the community to live a healthier life.

In a press conference, the Head of the National Health Commission (NHC), Lei Haichao, announced plans to open more obese clinics in health facilities. The goal is to help people lose weight safely and switch to a healthier lifestyle.

According to Wang Youfa, Head of the Global Institute of Health at Xi'an Jiaotong University, this trend shows an increasing public awareness of the dangers of obesity.

"This is a combination of scientific research, government policy, and public involvement," he said, quoted from the English.anhuinews website.

China used to focus more on meeting people's food needs, and obesity only started to become a problem in the late 1970s. Now, with a population of more than 1.4 billion people, the problem of obesity is getting serious.

The NHC report states that more than half of adults in China are obese. If not handled properly, this figure could increase to 70.5 percent by 2030.

The government also launched a national campaign in June 2024 to create an environment that supports weight loss in the next three years. The obesity clinic is one of its main strategies.

One of the first patients to benefit from this clinic was a woman surnamed Chen in Beijing, who weighs 100 kg. She is undergoing treatment at the Peak Union Medical College Hospital. The medical team combines nutrition, endocrinology, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

Chen was diagnosed with obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Doctors designed a program that includes traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, metformin drugs, and a healthy lifestyle strategy that suits Chen's needs.

According to Wang, China's advantage in dealing with obesity lies in a combination of traditional techniques such as acupuncture, massage, Qigong, and herbal diet. At the Suzhou Traditional Medicine Hospital, doctor Jiang Yawen has treated more than 100 patients with acupuncture therapy since early March 2025.

Although this clinic offers professional services, Wang warns of the risk of excessive treatment that has a negative impact on the patient's health and finances. Therefore, research, evaluation, and strict supervision are needed.

In addition to a obese clinic, China has long encouraged active lifestyles through exercise and healthy diets. Many families are now spending more time outside the home, doing activities such as hiking, cycling, and camping.

For example, Luo Ming (the pseudonym), a 43-year-old automotive engineer, regularly climbs Mount Miaofeng every weekend to maintain his health.

By the end of 2023, China had built 4.59 million sports facilities and 370 thousand km of pedestrian paths. Physical education has also been included in the high school entrance exam.

Based on a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2024 as many as 49.6 percent of China's population are active in sports, an increase of 18.7 percent compared to 2018.

The government also issued national diet guidelines, including a special menu for people who are obese. For example, the dinner menu for the Chinese population in the middle includes steamfish, cabbage tumis with mushrooms, and lettuce tumis.

Now, more and more people are aware of the calorie content and are more thorough in reading the list of food ingredients. Healthy menus such as salads with fatless meat are increasingly in demand, while traditional foods such as mooncake and zongzi are now available in low-calorie versions.

In addition, Japanese citizens also consume a mixture of vegetables and fruit to offset excess food consumption during holidays.

Reports of services between foods in 2024 show that overall grain consumption increases, fruit consumption increases, and nearly 70 percent of teamas now prefer low sugar variants.

According to Huang Peng, professor at Beijing Sport University, now people are starting to see metabolism and body fat percentage as the main health indicator, not just weight.

China is now moving towards a healthier lifestyle, with a combination of government support, innovation in healthy foods, and increasing public awareness of fitness and nutrition.