The battle to increase the life expectancy of the Chinese citizen has largely been won. Today the average Chinese lives to the age of 73, a few years behind citizens of most developed nations. Now comes the battle against rich food, cigarettes and a growing television habit. These lifestyle choices, made
possible by China's economic rise, are killing more and more Chinese every year.

     A new report, published today in the Lancet medical journal warns of "a health and economic time bomb" that could unravel China's economic miracle unless it shifts its healthcare system towards preventive policies.The rapidly aging population brought about by tight family planning policies means the country will have to find money to care for a growing numbers of elderly people who are living longer, and suffering chronic diseases like hypertension, heart disease, and stroke (now China's biggest killer).

      Afflictions common to wealthy Western countries caused three quarters of all deaths in China in 2005, compared to 47 percent in 1973, the report says.
Ironically, improved diet is leading to worse health. Meat consumption is up, but fruit and vegetable intake is down. The Chinese diet now contains more oily
food, explains report co-author, Dr. Xiao Shuiyuan of Central South University in Changsha, chairman Mao's hometown. Today's culinary Cultural Revolution runs counter to the hardscrabble, lean living of Mao's 1960s heyday. Levels of fat in rural diets rose 100 percent in the two decades prior to 2002,