RELAXING: Office workers in Guangzhou take aerobic exercise during coffee break (CFP)

Eat for health

"Unhealthy and irregular diet is another cause of sub-health. Changing eating habits may help people prevent sub-health," said Chang Cuiqing, a professor of sports nutrition and biochemistry at the Third Hospital of Peking University. "Balanced diet and appropriate exercise are the two bases for human health. A human body is like a car. If you use it properly, it will work at least 120 years in theory. But because of lack of healthy lifestyle, rarely there is somebody who reaches that age," Chang said.

Many people in sub-health conditions often feel tired because "they rarely exercise," Chang said. "Ten minutes of exercise every day is the bottom line for a healthy lifestyle, otherwise, one may easily get diabetes or too fat and exercising for another 20 minutes every day will keep you healthy and fit."

And sub-health conditions will always weaken the immune system. To keep the immune system sound, Wang Lu, Director of the Nutrition Department of Beijing Hospital recommended whey protein as an ideal dietary supplement.

"Balanced diet is the best source of nutrition and the basis for a sound immune system. But whey protein will effectively improve one's immunity when balanced diet is unattainable," Wang said. "It's because whey protein contains many kinds of active and high-quality proteins such as glutathione GSH which help to improve one's oxidation resistance," said Wang.

In a recent forum on whey protein hosted by the U.S. Dairy Export Council, Chang said, "Whey protein provides high-quality protein and is low in fat and carbohydrate. It is one of the best choices for people to recover quickly after exercise."

Employee Assistance Program

The WHO defines "healthy" as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." In other words, mental health is an indivisible part of human health.

Nowadays, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which originated from Western culture, is gaining popularity among Chinese enterprises and employees. The Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP) as a new occupation also becomes popular. They provide psychotherapy for enterprises and organizations to uncover problems in the management. They provide mental assessment and consultation for employees, help them lessen stress and depression, and treat and prevent employees' harmful emotions.

"At present, the EAP localization program in China has signed contracts with more than 600 psychotherapy consultation agencies. The program has trained more than 10,000 professionals who can provide various consultation and instruction," said Wang Wei, Director of the Project Management Office of Chinese Employee Assistance Program, which is engaging in the localization of EAP in China.

EAP first became popular among affiliated agencies of multinational corporations in China. Afterward, it was introduced into domestic enterprises such as Lenovo Group Ltd. and the China Development Bank.

Fan, who has attended some of the EAP courses, said she has benefited a lot from the courses. "People cannot control objective factors that lead to pressure, but we can control our reaction to that pressure," Fan said. "I can develop new habits to deal with work pressure and prevent sub-health now."

Everyday, Fan and her husband call each other several times to remind themselves of taking a short rest and exercise.