WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- One unintended consequence of China's economic growth is its rising rate of obesity, particularly in children, and the government is searching for a solution.
Thirty percent of the people in China's big cities are overweight, according to state-run news outlets. That's a 50-percent increase since 1992. And 12.3 percent are obese, double the 1992 percentage.
Dr. Jiang He, chairman of the Department of Epidemiology at Tulane University in New Orleans, said shifting patterns in the way Chinese people live and work have caused problems. "Physical activity is reduced in the Chinese population because of urbanization. ... Now normal people have office work" as opposed to manual or farm work, he told United Press International.
Another factor is transportation. Private cars, once an unimaginable luxury for middle-class families, are becoming more popular. In anticipation of the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing has updated its public transportation. Other cities have followed suit, providing alternatives to the bicycle, once an icon of urban life in China.
Many workplaces and schools organize exercise periods in which employees or students engage in group calisthenics. But these activities are rare among white-collar workers, Dr. He added.
Eating habits are also changing. There is an overall trend among Chinese people of "reduction of consumption of staples like rice and traditional Chinese food items and preference for processed fast-food products," Dr. Colin Tukuitonga, coordinator for primary prevention of chronic diseases at the World Health Organization, told UPI.
"The main thing is that they've done this in a relatively short period of time. This phenomenon has taken a period of 10, 20 years."
Both He and Tukuitonga cite the growing popularity of American fast-food chains, particularly among children, as a significant culprit in China's problem with obesity. Chinese people are "turning away from traditional diets to processed, high-energy but nutrition-poor food items that generally tend to be cheaper," Tukuitonga said.
He said high salt content in many Chinese dishes also poses health risks. Chinese meals are also traditionally eaten family style, with everyone taking small amounts of food at a time from communal dishes, a practice that makes it difficult to be aware of portion size.
In addition to the rapid economic growth in China's cities and the introduction of Western fast-food chains, social factors are also in play.
In response, the government has created a center for chronic-disease prevention at the Chinese National Center for Disease Control, and the Ministry of Health founded a national center for cardiovascular-disease prevention and research.
"I have to say on this occasion they have been proactive -- they have recognized that this problem exists in their country. They've been very transparent and they have requested the help of the WHO," Tukuitonga said.
"To be fair to the Chinese government, they're a country that has a double burden" of obesity among the urban middle-class population and malnutrition in poor rural areas, he added. In fact, memories of famine and deprivation may make weight gain seem like a non-problem or even a badge of progress.
What matters now, he added, "is for the Chinese government and health professionals to develop national education programs because a lot of people in China still don't know the harmful effects of overweight and obesity."
