Half of China's adults are obese. As many as 500 million people are overweight. This information has been mentioned in an official report of the country.

The number of obese people in the country has been rising since 2002, the report said. At that time, 29 percent of the people in the country were obese.

Over the decades, China's rapid economic growth has led to significant changes in people's lifestyles, diets and exercise, the report said.

Last October, the Chinese government announced some plans to tackle the growing obesity problem.

Excessive obesity increases the risk of various diseases, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes, the report said.

The rise of obese people in China during the coronavirus epidemic is a new phenomenon. Because studies have shown that obese people are more likely to have coronavirus complications. Their risk of death is also relatively high.

China's National Health Commission released the report on Wednesday. It says more than 50 percent of the country's adult population is obese. Of these, 16.5 are suffering from various obesity related problems.

The report says that the number of obese people in the country is increasing due to not doing physical work. Less than a quarter of adults exercise once a week, the report said.

It further said that the tendency to eat meat and disinterest in eating fruits is also increasing people's weight.

Wang Dan, a nutritionist in Harbin, told the AFP news agency that many adults in the country now exercise too little and are under too much stress. Besides, their work schedule is not healthy.

In recent years, China is not the only country where the number of overweight or obese people is increasing.

Earlier this year, the World Health Organization reported that the number of obese people in the world had tripled since 1985. There are also low and middle income countries.

The World Health Organization says that in 2016, 40 percent of adults in China were obese. Of these, 13 percent were obese.

The Gulf country of Qatar has the highest number of obese people. About 70 percent of the population suffers from obesity or obesity.