Lazy living takes toll on Chinese livers

BEIJING, Sep 7 (Reuters) Chinese government officials, many of whom are partial to liquor-fuelled banquets while managing affairs of state, are often unhealthy, suffering high blood pressure and liver diseases, state media reported today.

Of 8,199 working and retired officials examined in China's booming southern province of Guangdong, more than half were classed as unhealthy, and more than a third had high blood pressure, the China Daily said, citing provincial health authorities.

Twenty-seven percent showed diet-related liver diseases, the paper said.

"Government officials have to deal with a lot of pressure at work as well as handle complicated interpersonal communications and plenty of social activities, so they are more likely to develop these kinds of diseases," the paper quoted Liao Xinbo, a vice-director with Guangdong's health bureau, as saying.

Prostate complications had become a "common complaint" in male officials, while almost 20 per cent of women officials showed breast-related problems, the newspaper added.

Last month, a survey of traffic police in eight Chinese cities found an average life expectancy of just 43 years due to dire working conditions and pollution, state media reported.

Reuters ARB DB1057