obesity

A recent New York Times article suggests that China is on the precipice of a revolution. Apparently, the Chinese are now ready to take to the streets and exercise their rights for fancy fitness centers and swanky gyms.  Is this fitness revolution really happening, and even if the parts are there, is that really making China fitter?

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Troubled by the rapid rise in youth obesity, Beijing’s municipal health bureau is planning to implement a newly-drafted five-year health plan in some 80% of the city’s primary and secondary schools. Schools are now required to maintain a health file for at-risk students compiling the results of regular check-ups with the school nurse.

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Despite the somewhat misleading title, a recent article in The Atlantic describes a recent study comparing childhood obesity in America and China:

For the study, published in the current issue of The American Journal of Health Behavior, Spruijt-Metz and her fellow researchers analyzed cross-sectional survey data on food-intake frequency from 9,023 middle and high school students and one parent from seven large cities in China. They found that sedentary activities, such as watching TV or using the computer, were related to greater odds of being overweight, just as in the U.S. More interestingly, they also uncovered several unexpected behaviors that were correlated with higher incidences of being overweight, including more vigorous exercise, less candy and fast food intake, less frequent snacking, more fruit consumption, and higher arental educational attainment.

People who visit the United States (and certain other Western countries) from China often remark on how many overweight people they notice upon arriving, and it doesn't take a genius to recognize how prevailing lifestyle habits (junk food, lack of exercise, driving everywhere) contribute to higher obesity rates in certain countries. But, as the article points out, what's interesting in comparing China and America's childhood obesity rates is the different co-relations between social class and diet in both countries:

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Hong Kong International Medical Clinic, Beijing has brought up a current concern among parents and children worldwide. The increase of better living conditions and amount of minerals accessible to children raises a global concern on children’s weight. Being overweight is not just a health issue, it can not only make your child unhealthy but also causes social problems for children overweight, such as being teased by their peers and alienated by peers. Being obese can also impact your child dramatically during their different stages of growth, causing them to develop low self-esteem or body image problems.

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Childhood obesity is on the rise in China

In what is undoubtedly a trend here in Beijing as well, childhood obesity in Shanghai is now higher than world averages, the Shanghai Daily reports, and is approaching the level of famously fat places like the United States and other western nations.

Shanghai Jiaotong University surveyed over 10,000 primary school students in the Shanghai area and found 13.3% were overweight, while 6.5% were classified as obese. What's even more shocking is the rate at which the obesity epidemic is rising ... 24.4% over the last decade alone.

There's nothing new in the analysis of why: rising incomes and the increased availability of junk food has lead to an increased intake of calories and not enough exercise to burn it off.

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