At sixty years Mr. He is typical for someone who pays too much attention to leading a "healthy life". He carries a notebook in his pocket containing various facts and figures on living standards, copied from magazines, TV programs and newspapers. He often refers to his notebook to ensure that he is consuming enough fruit and vegetables to satisfy vitamin requirements, and enough meat and rice to satisfy nutrition requirements. Whenever he hears of someone eating toasted or fried foods, he becomes extremely anxious for them, hearing of their ‘intoxication’.

Mr. He also records how far he walks each day. He can not get to sleep until he has walked an amount adequate to gratify the standards set out in the newspaper. After observing these rules for several months, He now feels "so tired and anxious each day, much worse than before."

Another old patient has a different story. Knowing some seniors climb Fragrant Mountain, he follows them every at dawn, despite his age. Over exercising hurts his muscles and he has been getting ill.

Excessive health concern is not confined just to the elderly. A young person got a blister, and became extremely anxious that he might have AIDS because he knew that one of the symptoms of AIDS is a blister. He went to hospital a number of times, but each checkup confirmed that he was free from AIDS. Still he didn’t believe it and continued to try and find the answers himself searching every reference he could get his hands on.

Doctor Xu believes that anxiety over health can be regarded as an irrational form of self perfection. Too much of this behavior may amplify anxiety and lead to excessive strain on the body and even undermine a person’s health.

Health experts suggest that proper food and proper sport is crucial. People who are strong enough may enjoy intensive exercise activates such as jogging, but the elderly and weak should stick to doing more moderate forms of exercise like walking and light gym routines. They must learn to increase their level of fitness one step at a time, never pursuing goals too far beyond their current capacity.

Cui Xiaoming, a nutrition expert from the Sixth Hospital of Beijing suggests that people should form a scientific diet and develop proper eating habits. People have different nutritional needs depending on age, sex, season, type of job and current physical condition. So checking one's "standard nutrition" every day is not a very good scientific approach to assessing health. Office employees need less meat and oil than labor workers; women need more fruit and vegetables than men. It is appropriate to have three full meals a day and eat vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs and poultry. People can adjust what and how much they eat naturally.

(china.org.cn by Li Liangdu November 22, 2002)