Number of healthy years lags behind life expectancy for the elderly

China's elderly are spending an average of eight years with a chronic health condition, according to a report issued by the National Health Commission on Monday.

The average life expectancy of people in China reached 77 years last year, but the average healthy life expectancy is only 68.7 years, according to the commission.

Elderly people receive free health checks at the courtyard of Rongan County government in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on April 11, 2018. [Photo: IC]

And about 75 percent of elderly people have one or more chronic diseases, equal to around 180 million people.

China has one of the world's fastest aging populations. At the end of last year, there were 249 million people in China above the age of 60, accounting for 17.9 percent of the population.

The health commission said that more attention needs to be paid to the health of the country's elderly in order to better implement the Healthy China Initiative.

Earlier this month, the State Council issued a new guideline for the initiative that included proposals for promoting health-improving activities, protecting life-long health, and the prevention and control of major diseases.