Braised pork, boiled fish, roast duck, fried chicken - the thought is enough to make anyone's mouth water. Until recently, Zhang Yingying would have been among them.

But recently, her friends have noticed that Zhang has practically become vegetarian because she refuses to eat meat or vegetables if they've been cooked in an excessive amount of oil.

The change came when Zhang received a health report that suggested she is slightly overweight and has hyperlipidemia, a high level of fat in her bloodstream.

"The doctor said it's abnormal for a young woman like me to have a high level of blood fat and that it can trigger many diseases. She advised me to lower my intake of oily food," said Zhang, 31, who works for an education service company in Beijing.

As China's standard of living rises, the average per capita oil intake has soared. During the past two decades, the average daily intake of oil has risen to more than 40 grams from a previous level of 18.2. Experts have warned that the number of Chinese people designated "obese" could explode to 200 million within 10 years, if countermeasures aren't taken.

"Too much oil can easily trigger high levels of blood fats, blood pressure, blood sugars and other conditions. The recommended daily intake is 25 g, but the average in China is between 42 and 44," said Mo Baoqing, a professor of food nutrition and hygiene at Nanjing Medical University.

Zhai Fengying, deputy chairman of the Chinese Nutrition Society, said 90 percent of Chinese families don't bother to limit the amount of oil they use for cooking and many even add oil to improve the flavor of food.

In addition, more people are now eating in restaurants, and although there are around 100 basic methods of cooking, more than 80 include the use of oil.

Reducing the intake of oil and improving the quality of daily diets has become an urgent health problem in China.

At a high-level conference on salt and oil reduction held in Beijing in June, experts called for local health departments to work out practical targets for the ingestion of salt and oil and begin implementing them as soon as possible.

"A good diet significantly lessens the risk of disease. Using less oil when cooking is the simplest way of protect a family's health," said Qin Fu, director of the institute of agricultural economics and development at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

(China Daily 08/30/2012 page6)