Chen says the guideline has been introduced to major hospitals in Beijing and will be adopted by dozens of hospitals outside the capital by the end of July.

Leading experts from the China International Exchange and Promotive Association for Medical and Health Care are now providing training to doctors who offer weight-loss services in hospitals outside Beijing to ensure they follow the guideline and provide standardized treatment to patients most at risk.

"The program is aimed at seriously obese people. Their condition has caused noticeable damage to their health," Chen says.

Yu Linxin, a marketing manager at E-Jane, a healthcare services provider in Beijing, says: "We have conducted marketing surveys and found that 95 percent of obese or overweight people have never visited a hospital for treatment. Many of them don't know that there are such clinics in hospitals, and most of them do not regard obesity as a disease."

She urges obese people to visit hospitals for approved weight-loss treatments.

"Many methods used by service providers are not scientific. Some may help people lose weight temporarily - but they usually rebound quickly - and some may even cause health problems, such as malnutrition," she adds.

wangxiaodong@chinadaily.com.cn