At the 2025 National Two Sessions, the National Health Commission announced it would advance the three-year “National Weight Management Initiative.“ Shedding pounds is no longer a personal struggle but a widely concerned “national issue.“

　　Traditional Chinese medicine's understanding of obesity dates back 2,000 years to “The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine,“ which was the first to record the disease name, etiology, and pathogenesis of obesity. It vividly categorized obesity into “Gao people,“ “Zhi people,“ and “Rou people,“ revealing the deep connections between obesity and phlegm-dampness, spleen deficiency, and liver depression. The ancients of Shandong also well understood the secrets of weight loss, combining diet and exercise to maintain the good image of the “Shandong Burly Chap.“ The wisdom of weight loss from a thousand years ago is still relevant today.

　　Confucius’ Guide to “Fasting Lite“

　　Confucius, the founder of Confucian culture and revered as the “model teacher for all ages,“ also had unique ideas on weight loss. Confucius placed great emphasis on diet and food ingredients. The “Analects of Confucius“ records his overall attitude towards diet as “Eat no rice but is of the finest quality, nor meat but is finely minced.“ This reflects his requirements for the selection and processing of cooking ingredients from the perspectives of nutrition and food safety, emphasizing the importance of facilitating eating and the digestion and absorption of food by the human body.