BEIJING, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- More than 50 percent of Chinese adults are troubled by overweight or obesity, warned a report released by China's health authorities on Wednesday.

The overweight and obesity rate among children aged six to 17 is 19 percent, while that among children aged under six is 10.4 percent, according to the report, which was based on the results of a nationwide survey on the nutrition and chronic disease status of Chinese nationals between 2015 and 2019.

The prevalence rate of overweight and obesity is rising quite quickly and affecting all age groups, said Zhao Wenhua, chief nutritionist with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), at a Wednesday press conference.

Zhao attributed the high prevalence of these health issues to an unbalanced diet, especially the excessive consumption of food high in fat and sugar, and the lack of physical activities due to unrestrained use of electronic products.

The expert urged efforts to optimize the supply of healthy food and promote a healthy diet, while increasing the construction of public spaces for physical exercise.

Zhao also stressed the importance of creating public awareness on weight management as well as the prevention of weight-related health problems among kids and adolescents.

The five-year survey was organized by the National Health Commission and carried out by the China CDC, the National Cancer Center and the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, covering nearly 600 million people. Enditem