Among the overweight Chinese, 30 million are directly obese, the Xinhua news agency said, citing Li Chunsheng, a doctor affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Traditional Medicine.

Beijing, one of the country's wealthiest cities, had particularly severe problems, the agency reported.

More than 18 percent of the capital's primary and middle school students are characterized as obese, nearly a doubling from a decade ago, the agency said.

The findings confirm a pattern observed in many other countries where rising standards of living make non-infectious chronic diseases a rising danger to public health.

Source: Yahoo News: AFP.