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.
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 kilogrammes, 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.
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 kilogrammes since arriving in July at 114 kg. And while some fellow participants struggled with the 10-kilometre hike, she said her “stamina has probably improved”.
Yang’s parents pay around 3000 yuan (RM1,849) 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 kilometres or doing burpees.
China’s National Health Commission has stated that “the prevalence of overweight and obese people in China has continued to rise”, prompting the government to launch a three-year campaign addressing obesity. This includes advising schools to reduce foods high in salt, sugar, and fat within canteens, and ensuring students engage in at least two hours of physical activities a day.
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”.
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.
Zhao has already 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.”
Source: Malay Mail
