WUXI, CHINA ¨C In a community center in eastern China, Shu Fangqiang shrugged off his jacket and stepped onto a scale, one of hundreds of locals signing up for an unusual weight-loss program ¡ª ¡°Trade Fat for Beef.¡±
The rules are straightforward: for every half kilogram he loses, Shu will receive the same weight in boneless beef, or 1.5 kg?of beef on the bone.
The program is one of many springing up across China, backed by local authorities anxious to tackle rising obesity rates, which are fast becoming a pressing public health issue.
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