Sub-health has now become a major problem among city dwellers, especially white-collar workers and those with high education level. However, not all people have a clear picture of what this condition is.

A resident in Beijing, said, I've heard about sub-health, but I don't know what it is. In my opinion, sub-health is a symptom when one is about to get sick, and his body condition is deteriorating. I think it is a state between health and disease. I don't know whether it could be called as an illness, but I think it's not good for our health.”

Feng Xinzhong, a member of the standing committee of sub-health branch in China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, has been studying sub-health problems for years.

Feng Xinzhong said, “The World Health Organization defined sub-health condition as a third state which stands between health and disease. People who suffer from sub-health often feel tired, inactive and experience decreased social adaptability.”

Feng Xinzhong says that WHO defined "healthy" as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity", and only 15 percent of Chinese people live to this definition, whereas more than 70 percent are in sub-health condition. For various reasons, many industrialized and developing societies are among the most seriously hit. Long term stress, overtaxing physical and mental work, and environmental pollution, all contribute to pushing a person into this condition. Many studies have been conducted on how to help this 70 percent get healthy.

Feng Xinzhong said, "The best way of keeping fit is to use the health preserving powers of traditional Chinese medicine. The purpose of health preservation is to keep the human body in relative balance, allowing ideal health to prevail. Doing exercises such as shadowboxing, qigong, they can all help with that."

vivi笔记：

city dwellers：城市居民
white-collar workers ：白领
education level：教育水平
standing committee：常务委员会
China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine：中国中医协会
World Health Organization：世界卫生组织
social adaptability：社会适应能力
Chinese medicine：中医
health preservation：养生

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