Good health is wealth indeed

Health problems may erode the gains from economic growth, says an article in Xinhua Daily. The following is an excerpt:

In recent years, quite a number of experts warned that in economically developed regions, health problems are eroding the economic gains. That is not only caused by environmental pollution, but is also related to factors like ecological imbalance, unsafe foods and unhealthy lifestyles.

According to statistics, from 1993 to 2003, the medical fees on diabetis rose 22.33 percent every year; the annual medical fees for cardiovascular diseases amounted to 130 billion yuan ($19.1 billion). From this, we can see that health problems are slowing down the pace of our wealth accumulation and our national economic growth.