Shanghai aims to raise healthy life expectancy

Shanghai aims to achieve a healthy life expectancy of over 71 by 2025, higher than the national index (68.7) announced in 2019, the city's health authorities said during a press conference on Thursday.

A healthy life expectancy, according to the World Health Organization, refers to the average number of years that a person can live in a healthy condition, and is an important indicator of a population's health.

The city also set goals for the next four years in improving residents' health literacy, the number of people who regularly take exercise, regulation of smoking in adults, the ratio of residents' reaching physical standards, the quality of air and environment, the recycling and use of household garbage, treatment of domestic waste water in rural areas, and the control of vector density, Wu Jinglei, director of the Shanghai Health Commission, said at the conference.

"In order to achieve the goals, we threw in a large amount manpower and money, set up a system with social involvement and made efforts in the promotion of public health awareness." Wu said.

The concept that the individual is the first person responsible for their own health was also strengthened, Wu added, and the city will keep working on the control of air pollution and guaranteeing safe drinking water.

Healthy lifestyles are being promoted by the authorities such as healthy diets and regular exercise.

Health facilities such as fitness pavements and urban greenways alongside Suzhou Creek and Huangpu River will also be improved.

People should maintain good health habits during the summer season that include wearing masks in public places, keeping a safe distance from others, maintaining good ventilation at home and at work, washing hands properly, and covering mouths with elbows instead of hands when sneezing, said Wu Fan, deputy dean of the Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University.