BEIJING, Nov 7 (Reuters) Newly rich China, where the wealth gap is expanding year by year, has more than double as many obese people as it it has people living in abject poverty, Xinhua news agency said.

Changes in traditional diet, including a new fondness for Western fast food, and a sharp rise in the use of cars have been blamed for bulging waistlines in China, where famine and chronic malnutrition caused the deaths of millions in the 1950s.

''While 24 million people in China live in abject poverty and suffer malnutrition, 60 million Chinese are obese,'' Xinhua said, yesterday quoting Pan Beilei, deputy director with the State Food and Nutrition Consultant Committee.

''An increasing number of Chinese are eating more fat and junk food but less grains and vegetables, leading to a high number of cases of high blood pressure and diabetes,'' Pan was quoted as saying.

Statistics show that about 160 million Chinese suffer from high blood pressure and 20 million have diabetes.

''The widening wealth gap is also to blame for regional diet difference,'' Pan was quoted as saying. ''Narrowing the regional income gap will help improve the diet of citizens in poverty-stricken areas and make them more healthy.'' REUTERS BDP VC0943