“I haven’t really done well for myself, have I?” the former NBA star said in jest when asked how he is advising the Chinese government on dealing with a population that is increasingly unhealthy and obese.

Mr. Yao was speaking at a press briefing Thursday in his capacity as an advisor to the government, which is holding its annual parliamentary meetings this week in Beijing. The 7-foot-6 former Houston Rockets center has gained weight since his muscled days in the NBA, though he didn’t provide details on his current figure.

China’s health problem is similar to its smog issue, Mr. Yao said, noting that only when people fully realize there’s a problem do they start taking action.

“I think right now, obesity hasn’t fully been recognized here,” he said, adding that obesity is mainly hitting the youth population. “The older generations and the people around my parents age or those older than me, they didn’t have a foundation of such abundance.”

High rates of smoking, lack of exercise and unhealthy diets have contributed to an onslaught of disease in China. Like many developed countries have experienced, bad habits came with greater wealth.

If tallied from 2005 to 2015, the cost of death and health complications related to non-communicable disease would total $500 billion in China, the World Health Organization says.

Mr. Yao said an obstacle in China is that people lack time. Even if there are many exercise centers, little can be done to help people improve their fitness if they can’t commit time, he said. He added that he’d like to work with the government to create more programs and competitions for children, encouraging fitness as a hobby.

Mr. Yao, who retired in 2011, launched his own NBA Yao School in Beijing in October. It is an after-school basketball training and fitness school for young boys and girls. He said Thursday he hopes the program will help raise fitness levels.

“I think in the next 10 years, similar to the smog issue, obesity will influence the Chinese.”