Being single in China is hazardous to your health

Shanghai stores might be pushing Valentine’s Day in every conceivable way, but a new study shows they should adopt a new motto: “Be my Valentine, it’s good for your health.”

A first-ever survey on China's urban singles has come out in time for Valentine’s Day and it doesn’t have a lot of good news for those spending the day alone.

• More on CNNGo: Shanghai’s ultimate matchmaker -- Gong Haiyan

The report says that “leftover” men and women's long-lasting singledom is causing them psychological and physical harm.

The report lists five potential health hazards these young people face including stress, sexual repression and getting married and child-bearing at an "excessively old age."

Han Xiaohong, president of Beijing-based Ciming Health Checkup Management Group, which carried out the survey with the Chinese Medical Doctor Association to the survey, said to reporters that 21.6 percent of the leftover women and men are subject to long-term sexual repression.

Visiting prostitutes and having multiple sex partners have become two main causes of sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS, says China Daily in their coverage of the study.

According to the report, 70 percent of single men and women have also felt depression due to their single status. (Maybe due to their parents bothering them about getting married? Just a guess.)

If, at this point, your wondering what ages exactly marks a "leftover" man or woman, the report puts the marker at 30 years old for men and 27 years old for women.

Long-term sexual repression

According to People's Daily Overseas Edition, this survey took four months to finish and was sponsored by Ciming Physical Check-up Group together with 40 other organizations and media groups, including Chinese Medical Doctor Association, Chinese Hospital Association and people.com.cn.

The 160,000 single interviewees were 54.3 percent of male and 45.7 percent of female.

When asked about why they thought they were still single, the interviewees’ top responses were:

1. Home-bound after work
2. No economic foundation (eg. they don't have a house and car)
3. Small social circle.

More on CNNGo: The stigma of being single in Shanghai

However, some real-life leftover women disagree with this report.

“[I] believe that anyone with a normal IQ won't buy this bluff. It's not worth arguing with,” says Sandra Bao, the founder of an online “leftover” women's community Singles' Club.

“If [this is] not an advertorial from Ciming check-up, then those 'experts' can just have a good time entertaining themselves.”