This news is taken from China Daily

Chinaisfacinganepidemicofcardiovasculardisease (CVD), suchasheartattackandstroke, largelyduetoincreasesinhighbloodpressureandobesity, astudysaidMonday.

Decreasingphysicalactivity, ahighprevalenceofsmoking, andunhealthydiethavealsocontributedtothegrowingburdenofCVD -- nowtheleadingcauseofdeathinChina, accordingtothestudypublishedintheJournaloftheAmericanCollegeofCardiology.

"Wedescribedtrendsfrom 1991 to 2011 indietaryandotherlifestyleriskfactorsforCVDinChinaandprojectedhowthesetrendsmightplayoutfrom 2011 to 2031," saidYanpingLi, researchscientistintheDepartmentofNutritionatHarvardT.H. ChanSchoolandleadauthorofthestudy.

"Ourestimatessuggestthatthecontinuedriseinhighbloodpressure, anincreasinglysedentarylifestyle, increasingobesity, andworseningdietarytrendswilladdmillionsofnewcasesofheartattacksandstrokeoverthenexttwodecades."

Theresearchersanalyzeddatacollectedbetween 1991 and 2011 from 26,000 peoplelivinginnineChineseprovinces, aspartoftheChinaHealthandNutritionSurvey.

Theylookedatdietaryandlifestyleriskfactorsthathavebeenpreviouslylinkedwithheartattackandstroke, andanalyzedthatdataalongwithinformationonCVD-relateddiseaseanddeathincidenceextractedfromtheChinaHealthStatisticalYearbookandtheNationalPopulationCensus.

Itshowedthathighbloodpressure, highcholesterol, andhighbloodglucoseaccountedformostoftheCVDdiseaseburdeninChinain 2011.

Thatyear, thosethreeriskfactorswereassociated, respectively, with 3.1, 1.4, and 0.9 millionnewcasesofheartattackorstroke.

Of 6.8 millionChineseoverage 35 whodiedin 2011, about 3 millionofthedeaths, or 44 percent, wereCVD-related.

Theresearchersestimatedthathighbloodpressurealonewasresponsibleforroughly 40 percentofheartattacksorstroke.

HighbloodpressurehasjumpeddramaticallyinChinaoverthepastthreedecades. In 1979, itsprevalenceinthepopulationwas 7.7 percent; by 2010 itwas 33.5 percent, comparabletothatamongU.S. adults.

Thestudyalsofoundthatdecreasedphysicalactivityduringthestudyperiodwasassociatedwitha 0.7 millionincreaseinCVDcasesandincreasesofbodymassindex (BMI), acommonmeasureofbodyfatbasedonweightandheight, wereassociatedwitha 0.6 millionincrease.

Tobaccousewasalsoassociatedwith 1.3 millionCVD-relatedcases, roughlyathirdoftheCVDburdeninmen.

TheresearchersalsonotedthatwhileChineseeatmorefiber, fruit, nuts, andomega-3 fattyacids, consumptionofredmeatandsugarybeveragesisincreasing.

Highsodiumintake, whichaveraged 5.4 gramsperdayin 2011, wasestimatedtoberesponsibleforonefifthofCVDcasesinChina.

"Chinaisfacingarisingepidemicofcardiovasculardiseaseanditshowsnosignofabating," saidseniorauthorFrankHu, professorofnutritionandepidemiologyatHarvardChanSchool.

"It'simperativetocontinuetomonitortheproblem, whichhasserioussocialandeconomicconsequences. Preventionofchronicdiseasesthroughpromotinghealthydietandlifestyleshouldbeelevatedtoanationalpublicpolicypriority."