Struggling with obesity

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Source: CCTV.com | 11-06-2008 10:00

Obesity is a growing concern in China. As income increases, people eat more, exercise less, and spend long hours in the office.

Twenty-year-old Wang Yu thinks she probably weighs more than  100 kilograms. She hasn't dared to step on the scales recently.

The younger generation, in particular, is affected by this problem. Many are struggling to lose weight, resorting to all sorts of methods.

Shops like this one are still new in China. But there's a growing market for oversized clothes, as the nation gets fatter.

Twenty-year-old Wang Yu thinks she probably weighs more than 100 kilograms. She hasn't dared to step on the scales recently.

Wang Yu said, "In the evening I go to the bars to hangout, or to the nightclubs to dance. In the morning I sleep in late, and that's caused the hormonal balance to be broken. Sometimes at home, I eat KFC or McDonald's because it's simple, and I don't want to cook myself. "

A common way to reduce weight is exercising in gyms to burn off the excess calories. But being surrounded by all the slim figures in the room can make working out in public challenging.

Instead some try diets and pills. But without a strong will, the temptation of food is often too difficult to deny.

Wang Yu decided to give acupuncture a try. According to Chinese traditional medicine, the needles help the body regain its balance. In the case of obesity, this results in weight loss. Another advantage all the patient needs to do, is just to lie down.

But Doctor Pan Shanying says acupuncture is a lot of work. It will only be effective if the patient is willing to maintain a healthy diet.

Acupuncture doctor Pan Shanying said, "There are more and more obese patients. We're so busy. Now if I see the patient who is not going to be cooperative, I just turn them away. I don't want to waste my time. "