A Chinese health expert has urged overweight people to conduct scientific interventions when losing weight.
As the global obesity crisis has become one of the most pressing public health challenges of the 21st century, China is intensifying efforts to tackle rising obesity rates by adding a nationwide weight management campaign to its Healthy China Initiative, a comprehensive public health strategy launched in 2019 to improve national health outcomes.
Under the updated plan, China aims to make substantial progress by 2030. Key goals include creating supportive environments for healthy weight management, raising public awareness and skills, encouraging healthy lifestyles, and slowing the rising trend of obesity.
Zhang Peng, director of metabolic and bariatric surgery at Capital Medical University Beijing Friendship Hospital and a leading contributor to China's latest national obesity diagnosis and treatment guidelines, offers insights into the causes for the obesity crisis.
He identified two types of failed weight loss attempts. The first type occurs when diet and exercise efforts fail to produce meaningful results. The second type happens when the number on a scale shows progress, but the weight lost is primarily water or muscle mass rather than fat.
"We generally define ineffective weight loss as a weight loss of less than five percent. In this case, for example, for a person weighing 200 jin (100 kg), if his weight loss is less than 10 jin (5 kg), it is considered an ineffective weight loss," Zhang said.
He suggested setting realistic goals for losing weight, adopting scientific methods, and continuing to adhere to a healthy lifestyle after a successful weight loss.
"There are actually several causes for weight regain. The first is that the methodology matters a lot in weight loss. If a method unsuitable for oneself is used, the weight loss is more likely due to the loss of water or muscle. The second scenario is that we tend to indulge in diet after a successful weight loss. In that case, it is very easy for the weight to rebound. The third cause is that our bodies have a natural mechanism for regulating weight, known as metabolic memory. For example, if a person weighs about 200 jin (100 kg), but loses weight to 150 jin (75 kg), the body does not readily accept the new weight and exerts a force to correct it back, which is a natural phenomenon. Therefore, after a successful weight loss, we need to persevere and gradually make the body accept this new weight so that our body weight can gradually stabilize. This process typically takes about one and a half to two years," he continued.
Data from the National Health Commission show that more than half of Chinese adults are overweight or obese. If current trends continue, that figure could rise to 70.5 percent by 2030, health officials have warned.
Health expert urges scientific interventions to combat obesity
