Alarm sounded for 'crispy skin' youths

Self-deprecating generation braces for 'premature' health challenges as pressure of modern life takes toll

Common conditions associated with aging, from arthritis and high blood pressure to fatigue and osteopetrosis, are becoming more prevalent in people of younger ages in China due in part to unhealthy lifestyles, academic and work pressure in today's fast-paced society, according to many experts.

Young people who experience signs of old age prematurely have taken to the internet to make light of their situation by calling themselves cuipi nianqingren, or "crispy skin youngsters", digging at their frail bodies that seem to be teetering on the brink and easily collapse at the slightest tap.

The self-deprecating term first emerged in a news report in early October. Local media in central China's Henan province reported that in September of last year alone, the emergency care department of Zhengzhou Central Hospital received more than 1,700 relatively young patients, an abnormally high number, according to the hospital.