About 160 million Chinese suffer from high blood fat which can be fatal, medical experts warned yesterday during the launch of a health project.

The project, China Health Communications Award, organized by Ministry of Health in partnership with the All-China Journalists Association, will run until next June.

It addresses a rising trend in the high level of fat in the blood, also known as a "silent killer", MOH spokesman Mao Qun'an said.

"The message is that prevention is better than treatment for hyperlipidemia." Mao said.

"All potential forces from experts to the media should be tapped to spread the message."

The disease afflicts almost 19 percent of Chinese adults. Young people are also prone to the disease, according to a survey.

Left untreated, it could trigger a stroke or a heart attack, Hu Dayi, a leading heart disease doctor with Peking University People's Hospital, said. Stroke and heart attacks kill up to 3 million people a year, and the figure is rising.

"Dubbed a lifestyle disease, hyperlipidemia is largely caused by unhealthy habits such as eating too much meat and not taking enough exercise. It can be prevented and cured, Mao said.

With a change in diet, a proper balance of meat and vegetables, and drug therapy, one's blood fat level can return to normal, CCTV host, Bai Yansong, said.

"My blood fat level was tested high last year and it is much lower this year after I closely followed doctors' advice to watch my diet, especially my consumption of meat," Bai said.

Men above 40, women after menopause, and those suffering from obesity are at great risk, Hu said.

"They should be tested for the disease at least once a year," Hu said.

"Everyone can be their own doctor by paying close attention to their diet and doing exercise," Ahmet Esen, chairman and general manager of the US-based drug producer Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which is funding the project, said.

(China Daily August 14, 2007)