Chinese Slimmers Trim Down at Weight-Loss Camps

Yang Chi'ao takes her place next to gym equipment and waits to be called by an instructor at a weight-loss camp in China, where over half of adults are overweight.
Boasting strict daily exercise regimens, mandatory trips to the scale and rigid surveillance to guard against snacking, the facilities have popped up across China as it grapples with a growing obesity crisis, said AFP.
They have also sparked controversy -- last year an influencer died while attending a facility in northern China as part of efforts to shed more than 100 kilograms, local media said.
Yang, 23, quit her teaching job earlier this year and signed up for a weight-loss camp on the outskirts of southwestern megacity Chengdu, and since then has followed a rigorous regime of diet and exercise.
She was one of around 60 slimmers who turned out early to train, a large poster looming overhead extolling their goal: "Become thin! Become beautiful! Become refined!"
Among the activities at the Chengdu camp are long brisk walks -- with instructors keeping an eye on participants tempted to stop for snacks at roadside carts.
"There will definitely be people who secretly want to buy food," Yang told AFP, walking with a steady stride.
"I've had the idea but never succeeded because the coaches keep following me."
Yang said she had lost nearly 30 kilograms (66 pounds) since arriving in July at 114 kg.
And while some fellow participants struggled with the 10-kilometer hike, she said her "stamina has probably improved".
"I might have felt very tired a month or two earlier," she said.
Yang's parents pay around 3000 yuan ($421) a month for her stay at the camp, where she shares a room with three others.
She lives nearby but says that participants are not allowed to leave from Monday to Saturday -- unless under "special circumstances".
"No one sneaks out because there is surveillance everywhere, and if you get caught, you'll be punished," she said, with disciplinary measures including running for five kilometers or doing burpees.
Obesity challenge
The country has ranked obesity the sixth leading risk factor for death and disability and ramped up efforts to tackle the issue.
Beijing's National Health Commission has said that "the prevalence of overweight and obese people in China has continued to rise".
That has sparked a fitness craze -- exemplified by "YOLO", a film about an overweight woman who takes up boxing to regain her self-esteem, that topped China's box office during Lunar New Year this year.
Jia Ling, who directed the film and played the leading role, reportedly lost over 50 kilograms during filming, with her physical transformation going viral.
This upward trend may be linked to increased disposable income and higher spending on food, often high in calories and rich in oil, said Charles Poon, medical director at Raffles Hospital Beijing.
Additionally, many people are facing more demanding work environments.
"Jobs are getting more complicated... and so a lot of stress is involved," said Poon, adding that this could lead to hormonal imbalance and contribute to obesity.
In June, China launched a three-year campaign to address obesity, recommending actions such as reducing foods high in salt, sugar and fat in school canteens and encouraging employers to support staff fitness.
The country will also ensure that primary and middle school students engage in at least two hours of physical activities a day.
For camps like the one in Chengdu, experts warn of the risks.
Pan Wang, an associate professor in Chinese and Asian studies at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said the government should monitor and restrict workouts and diets which could be potentially dangerous.
"The beauty industry is booming... (and) the concept of 'thinness' has translated into a kind of social capital," Wang said.
"Businesses like weight-loss camps can profit from it."
'It takes time'
At another camp activity, music blared from speakers as participants threw punches and jabbed in a boxing routine, their faces dripping with sweat.
Trainer Chen Hang shouted instructions from a stage while demonstrating the moves.
"The reason they came to a weight loss training camp is because they can't control their diet outside... and they can't get themselves moving," Chen told AFP after the workout.
The number of people coming to the facility was "continuously increasing", he added.
Yang posts daily videos on Chinese social media apps Douyin and Xiaohongshu -- China's equivalent of TikTok and Instagram -- which she said helps keep her accountable.
"If I don't get up every day to shoot, I will have no content to post, and everyone will know I'm slacking off," said Yang, who plans to stay in the camp until at least the end of March next year.
One of her roommates, Zhao Yuyang, discovered her videos online and was inspired to join the camp.
The 30-year-old has lost more than five kilograms in the past month, but is in no rush to shed more weight.
"You can't become a fat man in one bite, so losing weight has to be done slowly," Zhao told AFP during an evening gym session.
"It takes time."

A government-sponsored junk food ban in schools across Mexico took effect on Saturday, officials said, as the country tries to tackle one of the world’s worst obesity and diabetes epidemics.
The health guidelines, first published last fall, take a direct shot at salty and sweet processed products that have become a staple for generations of Mexican schoolchildren, such as sugary fruit drinks, packaged chips, artificial pork rinds and soy-encased, chili-flavored peanuts, The Associated Press reported.
Announcing that the ban had become law, Mexico's Education Ministry posted on X: “Farewell, junk food!” It encouraged parents to support the government's crusade by cooking healthy meals for their kids.
“One of the core principles of the new Mexican school system is healthy living," said Mario Delgado, the public health secretary. “There's a high level of acceptance of this policy among parents.”
Mexico's ambitious attempt to remake its food culture and reprogram the next generation of consumers is being watched closely around the world as governments struggle to turn the tide on a global obesity epidemic.
In the United States, for instance, the Trump administration’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has vowed to upend the nation's food system and “ Make America Healthy Again " by targeting ultra-processed foods to curb surging obesity and disease.
Under Mexico's new order, schools must phase out any food and beverage displaying even one black warning logo marking it as high in salt, sugar, calories and fat. Mexico implemented that compulsory front-of-package labeling system in 2020.
Enforced from Monday morning, the start of the school week, the junk food ban also requires schools to serve more nutritious alternatives to junk food, like bean tacos, and offer plain drinking water.
“It is much better to eat a bean taco than a bag of potato chips,” said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has championed the ban.
Mexico’s children consume more junk food than anywhere else in Latin America, according to UNICEF, which classifies the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic as an emergency. Sugary drinks and highly processed foods account for 40% of the total calories that children consume in a day, the agency reports.
“At my daughter's school, they told us that future activities wouldn't have candy, it would be completely different, with fruit, vegetables and other food that's healthy for kids,” said Aurora Martínez, a mother of two. “It will help us a lot.”
One-third of Mexican children are already considered overweight or obese, according to government statistics.
School administrators found in violation of the order face stiff fines, ranging from $545 to $5,450.
But enforcement poses a challenge in a country where previous junk food bans have struggled to gain traction and monitoring has been lax across Mexico’s 255,000 schools, many of which lack water fountains — even reliable internet and electricity.
It also wasn't immediately clear how the government would forbid the sale of junk food on sidewalks outside school campuses, where street vendors typically hawk candy, chips, nachos and ice cream to kids during recess and after the school day ends.
“It will be difficult,” said Abril Geraldine Rose de León, a child therapist. “But it will be achieved in the long run.”

Chinese Slimmers Trim Down at Weight-Loss Camps