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FOUR in 10 Shanghai men are overweight and one in eight is obese, according to a survey published yesterday.

The research was conducted last year by the Shanghai Sports Bureau, and involved 60,414 males aged between 3 and 69.

The proportion of “overweight” men rose to 41 percent last year, from 38 percent in a similar study completed in 2010, while the “obese” population increased to 12 percent from 11 percent.

Shanghai has 5 million adult male citizens with permanent residency.

Women were also tested last year, and the study found that one in five of them was overweight, slightly lower than the corresponding 2010 figure. It did not say how many women are obese.

Despite the higher proportion of fat men, the study claimed the general health of Shanghai’s permanent residents was better last year than it was 15 years ago.

Also, young people are taller than older people, it said.

The average height of the 17-year-olds polled was 174.7 centimeters, while the average height of 40-44-year-olds was 170.4cm.

More than eight in 10 people aged over 15 are shortsighted, it said.

The sports bureau also released the findings of its 2014 survey of 11,900 people’s attitudes to exercise.

It claimed that 38 percent of people exercise or take part in some form of sporting activity “frequently,” which is higher than the national average.