In 1982, a mere 7 percent of China’s population was obese. By 1992, that had risen to 15 percent and in 2012, the number of people clinically obese reached 300 million, according to the Chinese Ministry of Health.
Famously lean and agile; feasting was certainly reserved only for the 2 weeks a year that the country is encouraged to indulge. Look at the statistics of any urban, developed city in China these days (some 40 years later) and you are guaranteed to see a large proportion of young people suffering from a host of illnesses that have resulted from two things: convenience and affluence.
What ever happened to the thought that was, “Well if I can’t have it, then I can’t have it”, or “If I want that snack, I’ll have to walk to the shop to get it; if I don’t walk to the shop, then I obviously didn’t want it that much”. What has happened to living with the fact that we cannot always have everything that we want?
It is understandable that, for a nation of people who not that long ago suffered unbearable hardships, would now want nothing more but to relish in her new convenient lifestyle. That said, for the children of the 1990s or 2000s, there is no such excuse. Professionals blame a poor diet, no activity and a lack of awareness and understanding passed down from parents as the main cause of China’s rise in obesity. Yet, there are other rising factors at play.
“The obesity epidemic in China may also have its roots in the prevailing social attitudes towards body fatness. In Chinese culture, there is still a widespread belief that excess body fat represents health and prosperity. This is perhaps a consequence of China’s recent history, where famine and chronic malnutrition caused the deaths of millions of people in the 1950s”, writes Chief professor Wu Yangfeng in the journal article “Overweight and Obesity in China”.
With wealth, Chinese health has suffered. The country has become so rich, so fast and its appetite for food and extravagance has grown exponentially. Along with the fact that people just are not cooking anymore, restaurants are closing down and making way for a new kind of service that has taken over the market; the delivery app service. While for some, ordering in can be an inconvenience, for most people, it is the best thing since boiled rice.
Now, you do not even need to leave your house, as fast, cheap food can be delivered within 30 minutes, straight to your door, three, four, five times a day. Not only do these apps deliver food, but alcohol too, medicines and groceries, online shopping and more. The convenience of these apps is killing China and no one is even noticing.
China is now second only to the United States when it comes to obesity,ß with a staggering 30 percent of its population obese. Saddest of all are China’s childhood obesity statistics; according to the World Obesity Federation one out of every six boys and one out of every eleven girls are obese. It is also predicted that by 2025, 48.5 percent of children in China will suffer from obesity, a number published by the US National Library of Medicine.
Then there is the knowledge that obesity not only affects Chinese children of primary school age, but kindergarten also. “Pediatric overweight and obesity has become a major public health problem in China…Chinese preschool children had a high prevalence of overweight and obesity, and demonstrated poor sleep and physical activity habits”, conclude contributing scholars in a journal article entitled “The Relationship Between Obesity, Sleep and Physical Activity in Chinese Preschool Children”.
Fat camps are on the rise too, while China tries to control worsening health problems related to the sharp rise in obesity related illnesses. These include hypertension, diabetes, fatty liver, chronic back and neck pain. However as entrepreneurship continues to flourish in China, so do the unregulated and dangerous technologies of convenience.
Discussing her thoughts on delivery apps with The Nanjinger is Human Resources worker Leslie Lee, “I’ve been using delivery apps for around 3 years. I usually order my lunch and afternoon tea using the apps, my father cooks me dinner most nights. Before the apps came about I would walk somewhere close to the office and get lunch there. I like using the apps, they’re cheap and convenient”.
Conversely CFO Angela W spoke of her dislike for so called “convenience apps” and how she wishes to distance herself from it all. “I try to use these apps as little as possible because I don’t want to be controlled by AI. I can see my friends becoming addicted to it. I feel my data and personal details have all been stolen, I don’t like it”.
Albee Zhang writing for Physorg says, “Users of meal-ordering platforms tripled in 2 years to 343 million in 2017, the China Internet Network Information Center said, the vast majority using mobile apps…Delivery platforms have raised billions in venture capital and are said to be burning cash via discounts to grab market share, with growth rates expected to slow….But the industry impact will deepen”.
While the fattest of them all are slowly realising that their next meal order could mean a stroke or death, some are rushing to the nearest fat camp, gym, nutritionist and acupuncturist in order to help curb their weight gain. For a nation that has traditionally followed a very nutritious low fat diet for thousands of years, it seems ironic that dietetics awareness regarding the dangers of take out is in dire need.
School children now speak of nutrition classes, but how much and what exactly they are being taught remains unknown. Jamie Oliver famously took action in the early 2000s when the UK started suffering from a childhood obesity epidemic; he aimed at teaching children about the foods they were eating and educated both children and parents in how to rediscover cooking again. Perhaps China too needs a reintroduction to cooking?
People living in the most affluent of areas in China, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have already begun to see food delivery and the quality of it for what it really is; a killer. As a result, there is a growing awareness amongst first tierers to seek healthier better options, and like everything in China, this has given way to a new kind of business.
And entertainment. The Fat Artistic Troupe is a group of four overweight Chinese ladies who appeared on State broadcaster CCTV as long ago as 2015 ,in the hopes of breaking taboos and changing people’s perceptions of obesity.
According to a study by Nielsen Global Health & Wellness, “Rising awareness of health is a rising consumer trend in [the] Chinese market, and this could translate into real opportunity for manufacturers…Nearly 45 percent of the Chinese respondents consider themselves overweight… There is a tremendous opportunity for food manufacturers and retailers to lead a healthy movement by providing the products and services that consumers want and need”.
Thus, as China continues to rise, so does its waistline. Perhaps with a mountain of awareness, the right teachings and a squandering of traditional thoughts and behaviour, along with new trends in food manufacturing, China can continue to maintain its slender, elegant and wise posture on the world’s stage.
