Youth express worries for health concerns

Some 64 percent of surveyed Chinese youth dared not read their physical examination reports, and most believed that is because of their unhealthy lifestyles, the newspaper China Youth Daily reported Wednesday.

The online survey was jointly released by wenjuan.com, an online survey platform, and the newspaper. It received valid responses from 1,979 individuals aged between 18 and 35 last week, and 63.6 percent feared to read their physical examination reports.

Among them, 62.6 percent thought the examinations will reveal health problems that were caused by major stress, and 60.9 percent believed their unhealthy lifestyles have taken a toll on their health.

"Not only do I worry about my physical examination results, I am also nervous about undergoing annual physical checkups," said Dong Fei, the alias of a post-90s worker in North China's Hebei province who is slightly overweight.

"Every time I step onto the weight scale, I fear I have gained weight, because I'm afraid being overweight will give rise to other health concerns, such as fatty liver," Dong said.

Wu Feng, who works at a private company in Beijing, was warned in this year's physical examination report about hyperlipemia (excess lipids in the blood), a condition which he ascribed to his diet and the fast pace of his life and work.

"At work, I usually sit in the office for hours without moving my body. And when I eat at the canteen, the food is quite oily. What's more, I like to order fast food, such as fried chicken, at night when I work extra hours." Wu said.

Meanwhile, 56.7 percent of interviewees said they didn't know how to live a healthy life, and about 38 percent of the youngsters said they believed inadequate medical knowledge could lead to people's misinterpretation of abnormalities in their medical reports.

A post-90s programmer, whose alias is Wang Ke, has been seeing abnormal parameters in his medical report in the past few years. He said he felt anxious whenever he received the physical examination report.

"This year, my blood indicators demonstrated some abnormalities, but I am not sure what my problem really is. The report suggests I go to the hospital for further examination." Wang said.

According to Wang, he knew he had some bad habits, but it was not easy for him to change. "Building good habits takes time and self-discipline."

"I know drinking too much milk tea is unhealthy, but I couldn't stop myself. I am also aware imbibing alcohol is harmful to the liver, but there are occasions where I have to drink," Wang said.

Many youngsters are living an unhealthy lifestyle nowadays, according to Wang Xingguo, president of Dalian Municipal Central Hospital Nutrition Department.

"They share bad habits, such as staying up late, lack of physical exercises and an unhealthy diet," he said.