China’s Childhood Obesity Epidemic Due To Western Lifestyles

In China, 17 percent of boys and nine percent of girls were obese in 2014, compared to less than one percent of children and adolescents in 1985.

AsianScientist (May 6, 2016) – China is paying the price for adopting a western lifestyle with soaring childhood obesity. A 29-year study in nearly 28,000 children and adolescents published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology shows that 17 percent of boys and nine percent of girls were obese in 2014, compared to less than one percent of children and adolescents in 1985. The authors speculate that boys may be fatter than girls because of a societal preference for sons.

Data for the study was obtained from six national surveys in schoolchildren carried out by the Department of Education in Shandong Province, China, between 1985 and 2014. Rural students aged seven to 18 years had their height and weight measured. Body mass index was calculated as kg/m2. Overweight and obesity were defined using cut-off points recommended by the Working Group on Obesity in China, the International Obesity Task Force and the World Health Organization.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in boys increased from 0.74 percent and 0.03 percent in 1985 to 16.35 percent and 17.20 percent in 2014. In girls, it increased from 1.45 percent and 0.12 percent in 1985 to 13.91 percent and 9.11 percent in 2014, respectively.

“China is a large agricultural country and our findings have huge implications for the entire nation,” said Dr. Zhang Ying-Xiu, leader of the investigative team at the Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention at the Shandong University Institute of Preventive Medicine.

“The rises in overweight and obesity coincide with increasing incomes in rural households and we expect this trend to continue in the coming decades in Shandong Province and other regions of China.”

“China has experienced rapid socioeconomic and nutritional changes in the past 30 years. In China today, people eat more and are less physically active than they were in the past. The traditional Chinese diet has shifted towards one that is high in fat and calories and low in fiber.”

The authors speculated that boys are fatter than girls because they are given preferential treatment. The Chinese 2005 National Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance reported that 4.3 percent of boys and 2.7 percent of girls frequently had soft drinks, while 12.7 percent of boys and 4.3 percent of girls spent more than two hours per day playing computer games.

“Traditionally the societal preference, particularly in rural areas, has been for sons. That could result in boys enjoying more of the family’s resources. In addition, boys may prefer to have a larger body size than girls,” said Zhang.

“Computer games themselves are not the issue,” said Professor Joep Perk, cardiovascular prevention spokesperson for the European Society of Cardiology. “The problem is that kids sit there with a two liter bottle of fizzy drink. To burn those calories they would need to walk 46 kilometers (28.6 miles) but they don’t.”

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is rising faster in children (seven to 12 years) than adolescents (13 to 18 years), which the authors say could be because teenagers are more concerned about their appearance.

“Adolescents generally pay more attention to their body shape and do more exercise than children,” said Zhang.

Zhang also noted that rural areas of China have been largely ignored in strategies to reduce childhood obesity. He describes the study as a wake-up call for policymakers that rural China should not be neglected in obesity interventions. He also pointed out the need to educate children on healthy eating and physical activity, and to monitor their weight to check if these efforts are making a difference.

“This calls for a catastrophe committee in China to stop the alarming rise in childhood and adolescent obesity. They need to return to their former nutritional habits instead of eating junk food,” said Perk.

“Parents must take some responsibility and point their children in the direction of healthier choices.”



The article can be found at: Zhang et al. (2016) Trends in Overweight and Obesity among Rural Children and Adolescents from 1985 to 2014 in Shandong, China.

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Source: European Society of Cardiology; Photo: Shutterstock.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

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