Happiness listed as health criterion in Beijing

Happiness was listed as one of the criteria for health in the "Health Guide for Beijing Residents (Draft)" jointly released by the Beijing Health Promotion Working Committee and the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau on March 13.

Beijing residents are welcome to visit the bureau's official website at www.bjhb.gov.cn and leave their comments and suggestions.

The draft of the health guide was drawn up based on the actual state of health of Beijing residents as well as domestic and international documents, such as the World Health Organization's 10 health criteria and "66 Health Literacy Articles," as well as the Ministry of Health's "Guidelines for Prevention and Control of Overweight and Obesity Among Chinese Adults."

The health guide is made up of three parts, namely "having a healthy lifestyle," "maintaining mental health and good social adjustment" and "achieving basic physical health goals." The guide employs 34 indices and applies to people between 18 and 60 years old, said Zhao Chunhui, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau.

One of the 34 indices is the Happiness Index. One criterion for being a healthy Beijing resident is "knowing oneself and feeling confident and happy." The "having a healthy lifestyle" part contains 19 indices covering sports, food hygiene and safety, sleeping and other aspects.

The "Health Guide for Beijing Residents (Draft)" has been published on www.bjhb.gov.cn and will be open to advice and suggestions until March 25.

Beijing residents can take this opportunity to help the bureau set realistic health goals. The bureau said it will announce the final version of the health guide within the first half of 2011, print a large number of copies of the health guide in the form of booklet and then distribute them to the public for free.

source: people daily