China’s relationship with food is something I’ve always been really interested in. As a whole, China is constantly changing and the size, shape and eating habits of my students is no exception! This year, I’m so lucky to have a really lovely grade 10 class who are always up for a good discussion! As this term’s topic is food, I decided to discuss what I’m interested in: namely ‘food as medicine’, the rapid rise in certain western diseases in China and the idea of vegetarianism and veganism in China The responses from my students and the research I did actually really shocked me (and made me more convinced then ever that food plays such a crucial role in our health!)
So first of all: Why are Chinese people getting fatter?
Fun fact:More than a quarter of adults in China are overweight or obese.
This fact absolutely baffled my students (and me at first!) There were strong objections from the class, but when we looked at the study we realised the facts didn’t lie about obesity in China! In The China study (a book by Dr Campbell that analysed the health of the Chinese population in comparison) showed that twenty years ago, obesity in China was rare due to the largely plant based diet. As a result, a whole host of diseases prevalent in the west were non-existent in China (more on that later) And then this happened….
All the amazing results of the China study were centered around eating a plant based diet, because quite simply Chinese people couldn’t afford meat. They ate vegetables, rice and grains. Then westernization happened and with it came the huge increase of meat consumption and the reliance on western fast food. Interestingly, China is one of the few places to show such a huge range of obesity levels. In poorer rural areas (where they stick to a traditional diet) obesity in China rates are lower than 5% but in richer cities they reach 20%. This range demonstrates the huge difference between a traditional chinese diet and a more expensive western diet.
So what’s the deal with meat? Why do Chinese people like meat so much?
Not only are Chinese people eating more meat, they now believe it’s not possible to function without it. I asked my class what they thought about being vegan in China and these are some of the ideas they came up with…
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It’s clear Chinese people (or the younger generation at least) have been almost brainwashed into believing meat is good for them. As it used to be so expensive, meat is still seen as a sign of wealth so the idea of someone choosing to eat in a plant based way just did not enter their head. Luckily for homework, they got the chance to read some informative texts about veganism and vegetarianism which hopefully proved that they wouldn’t drop dead the minute they stopped consuming an animal three times a day.
So, how has this changed the health of the Chinese population? Here’s a few more facts for you to consider…
- 11.6% of adults are diabetic in China. This is more than the United States. In 1980, 1% of the Chinese population was diabetic.
- The rate of people being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in China has increased 300% in the last 10 years.
- China used to be one of the lowest populations in the world for colon cancer due to their high fibre diets. Rates are now growing at 4.2% per year.
I think that’s enough statistics to leave you with for now! It is certainly food for thought when we next think about studies that claim few links can be made between certain diseases and health. The chinese people are living proof that you really are what you eat!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, whether as someone who has visited (or lived in!) China or someone that’s just interested in the topic of health. Do you think that China’s problems can be atributed to solely to food? Have you read the China study and what did you make of it?
Jenna xx
Do you think the rise in colon cancer in China could possibly be attributed to more comprehensive diagnosis from doctors and greater access to medical services for the vast majority of the population? Also, when China was a more rural, less developed country the onset of colon cancer may well have been the least of the worries for general population as many would not have reached the age to develop it?
Just some thoughts to consider before solely blaming diet. Not saying it’s not a factor.
Experience related to this article : Visited China once. Frequently ate in McDonald’s and other establishments there. Gifted with a scientific, curious mind.
Same could possibly be said of diabetes too. Not totally sure on science behind all disease but imagine health in general deteriorates as lifestyles are generally less active than previous generations?
Hi jack! Always up for debate! Yes to some degree diseases will increase due to improvements in science, but studies on colon cancer are all firm that it is not fully responsible (e.g: ‘In Shanghai, China, the age-adjusted incidence rate of colon cancer has increased about 100%, or 4% per year between 1972–1977 and 1990–1994 (3 , 5) . The increase has occurred in both men (from 6 to 13 per 100,000 person-years) and women (from 6 to 11 per 100,000 person-years) and cannot be fully explained by ascertainment criteria or the increased use of screening procedures (3) .(this is from a scientific journal)
Actually diabetes in China has increased so much that it is now in more percentage of the population than America and far more than england. As a population, the percentage of chinese people who don’t have access to healthcare is far greater than england, so the fact diabetes rates are still much higher suggests it can’t be explained by healthcare but diet. In fact China’s attitude to food is almost like england twenty years ago, they eat that we know now are unhealthy (like sausages cooked and packaged with preservatives) and thinks their cool because they’re western. The preservatives were something totally nonexistent twenty years ago.
Finally, another thing I find really interesting is that the age of puberty in China used to be much older than the rest of the world (av age 17 compared to 11 in US) but now that’s changing. Many people believe that lowered age of puberty in girls is due to increased amount of hormones in milk and meat which again didn’t exist twenty years (particularly milk as Asian people don’t have the enzyme to break down milk so it’s not supposed to be part of their diet)
I think a lot of it comes into what kind of meat you eat and how you cook it. I’m defititely not a vegetarian, but I primarily eat boneless chicken breast, ground turkey, and fish. I’ve also shocked Chinese friends with how little oil I use when cooking. Its hard because there are grandparents, who well remember times of hunger and famine, raising grandchildren in a world where not all food is good food. I’m glad you’re talking about it with the kids because there does need to a LOT of education on the topic.
Yeah definitely! The amount of oil they use is crazy. I do don’t eat any red meat, although I don’t trust chinese chicken I order natural antibiotic free chicken online’
Very interesting post Jenna! I definitely think that there is an increase in what I consider a poor diet here- too much meat and it’s often poor quality (like you say in your comment above it can have antibiotics etc in it). I heard there are too many hormones in the milk too (I only drink imported cows milk). It’s interesting that in other countries there is a movement to cut down on meat and more and more understanding of vegetarianism and veganism but in China it’s kind of the opposite. I have seen some very overweight toddlers and under 5s here and that’s something that’s quite shocking to me!
I think it’s most of the people who have wrong ideas about meat, not only Chinese. My sisters also think that diet without meat is bad and they’re concerned about me because I don’t eat meat! But it’s actually better for me..
I agree, there’s nothing inherently wrong with meat etc it’s how foods are processed and prepared. Apparently milk has caused more incidences of irritable bowel disease in China but I think there’s nothing wrong with organic raw milk. When it’s pasteurised important enzymes are destroyed which make it difficult to digest.
Also I think that increased pollution which is a consequence of industrialisation has certainly had its toll on the nations health.