The Beijing government will hand out a free special oil pot to every family in the city by the end of the year to help people maintain a healthy lifestyle, the Beijing News reported on September 3.

Chen Zhu, the newly appointed Minister of Health, vice minister Wang Longde, and deputy mayor of Beijing Ding Xiangyang together unveiled a campaign at Chaoyang Park in Beijing to promote healthy living.

Along with the pot, the government will also send out a Healthy Diet Guide and a Infectious Disease Prevention Guide to every residence.
 
The limiting oil pot to be distributed to every family before the end of this year can hold 530 milliliters of edible oil. This is considered a reasonable portion for a 3-member family to use over the course of a week, according to officials from the Beijing health administration.

Research shows that a healthy adult should not consume more than 25 grams of oil and 6 grams of salt in one day. 80 percent of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and 40 percent of tumors can be prevented if people maintain a healthy diet, do proper exercise, and control smoking and alcohol intake.

By the end of June this year, the Beijing municipal government had given out 5 million special salt spoons to citizens for free. The distribution of spoons and oil pots is part of a themed health campaign.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Rui, September 3, 2007)