Local health experts cautioned that Shanghainese need to eat more rice instead of meat, Jiefang Daily reports.

A message from a recent health forum held by the city government and relevant research institution revealed that most male Shanghai residents take only 0.25 kilograms of rice per day, with even a half for a Shanghai woman on average.

The figure was only three-fourths of that in the 1980s.

Meanwhile, the ingestion of pork by Shanghainese on average has surged 108 per cent over the level in the 1980s. Local experts warned that such a tendency might cause more diseases such as high blood pressure and cardiovascular disorders.

Statistics show that currently nearly 15 per cent of Shanghainese over 35 have high blood pressure, compared with only 6.9 per cent in 1959.

Currently, more than 1.2 million people in Shanghai have high blood pressure, nearly half of whom suffer severe from related symptoms, according to statistics with the local health authority.

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