Chinese airlines are buying planes with larger seats to accommodate an increasing number of passengers who are overweight.

A China Eastern Airlines employee said the carrier imported its planes from the West, where the population is generally larger.

Even so, the company will cut out 20 seats on the new Airbus 321 to make the seating space wider.

Xia Hongshan, vice dean of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told Reuters, "China's civil airlines always have empty seats, especially in the low season. So, it is reasonable for companies to think about reducing the number of seats, even though it might not be a small investment."

Wen Weiliang, director of the China Health Care Association, said nearly 20 million adults in China were overweight. The problem has been blamed partially on the popularity of high-calorie Western fast food.

The official Xinhua news agency said airlines are concerned about losing money by cutting the number of seats.

The paper said, "Airlines are also concerned about the profits lost that seating re-arrangement might incur because aircraft are usually full during the peak seasons which add up to roughly one month per year."