A strict diet, exercise and twice-daily weighing is what it took for Yang Chi'ao to lose nearly 30 kilos at one of the weight-loss camps that are mushrooming in China, a country where more than half of all adults are overweight.
Facing a row of treadmills, she waits for the instructor to call her name to go and train, just like about sixty of her classmates. Above them, a large poster reminds us of the goals: "Get slim! Get beautiful! Get refined!"
Three months ago, the 23-year-old teacher left her job to join a weight-loss camp in the suburbs of Chengdu, southwest China. She weighed 114 kilos.
Such camps are increasingly popular in the world's second-largest economy, where obesity is considered by authorities to be "a major public health problem," with more than 50,000 Chinese people overweight or obese, according to a 2020 report from the National Health Commission (NHC).
But they also caused controversy when a 21-year-old influencer died last year while participating in one of them to lose more than 100 kilos, in northern China.
Among the activities offered in Chengdu are long, brisk walks where instructors keep an eye out for participants who might be tempted by the food stalls on the side of the road.
"There will definitely be people who want to buy food on the sly," assures Yang Chi'ao, who is moving at a good pace on the 10-kilometer circuit.
"(Me too) thought about it but I never managed to do it because the instructors are always following me."
- " Endurance " -
While some of her comrades struggle during the hike, the young woman is pleased to see that her "endurance has probably improved": "A month or two ago, I might have felt very tired."
In the camp, the rules are strict: no permission to go out between Monday and Saturday, except in "special circumstances".
"Usually, no one goes out secretly because surveillance is everywhere, and if you get caught, you will be punished," Yang Chi'ao said.
In October, Chinese authorities released guidelines for monitoring obesity, with the aim of standardizing diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
"In recent years, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in China has continued to increase," the NHC noted, ranking obesity as the sixth leading risk factor for death and disability.
This phenomenon may be due to rising incomes among Chinese people, which are leading them to spend more on food, observes Charles Poon, a doctor at Raffles Hospital in Beijing.
In addition, "jobs are becoming more and more complicated (...) so this involves a lot of stress", which can disrupt hormonal balance and contribute to being overweight.
– “Share capital” –
In July, authorities launched a three-year campaign recommending reducing foods high in salt, sugar and fat in school canteens and encouraging physical activity among employees and schoolchildren.
But the government also needs to better monitor strict diets and exercise programs that can be dangerous to health, said Pan Wang, an associate professor of Asian studies at the University of New South Wales in Australia.
"The beauty industry is booming (...) and the concept of thinness has become like social capital," he notes, so "businesses like weight loss camps can take advantage of that."
In Chengdu, music blares from speakers as sweaty participants train in boxing.
Their coach, Chen Hang, shouts instructions from a stage, while demonstrating the movements to be performed.
"If they came to a weight loss camp, it's because they can't control their diet outside (...) and they can't exercise on their own," she assures, welcoming the "constant increase" in the number of participants.
Every day, Yang Chi'ao posts videos on Chinese social media sites Douyin and Xiaohongshu – equivalent to TikTok and Instagram – which helps her stay motivated.
"If I don't get up every day to film these videos, I won't have any content to publish, and everyone will know that I'm slacking off," says the young woman, who wants to stay in the camp at least until the end of March.
One of her classmates, Zhao Yuyang, 30, came after seeing her videos.
In one month, she lost more than five kilos, but wants to take her time.
"You don't get fat in one bite, so to lose weight you have to do it slowly," she says.
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