Reason Number 32 - China Fat

‘Fault Lines On The Face Of China: 50 Reasons Why China May Never Be Great’ - Excerpt 61
“In 1982, just three years after China’s opening-up policy began, researchers commented that ‘Chinese food policy planners are doing much better from a dietary point of view than their Western counterparts, while avoiding problems associated with increased obesity and higher incidence of cardiovascular disease.’

In 1985, just 0.2% of urban boys between seven and 18 years old were overweight. By 2006 that figure had risen to an astonishing 25%. That’s an increase of more than 100 times.

Yet more than 9% of children five years old or less in China’s countryside were underweight in 2005, and in the poorest rural areas, 14.4% were underweight. Furthermore, 17% of rural children were growing more slowly than was normal.”

Another chance squandered by China. That lead in public health back in the 80s, sure, it was the upshot of many years of such poor management of the nation by the government that people were too poor to have access to fatty, sugary foods – or, indeed, even much meat. And, certain, there is no argument to be made for keeping people on a restricted diet.

But the fact remains China had a brief period of being a healthy nation and it pissed it up against the wall.

Today China apes the West as much as it can – all our dirty, squalid habits, our pollution, our selfishness and greed, our irresponsibility. All that is good in China is forgotten and all that is bad from the West is glorified.

It occurs to me that China’s attitude today is precisely the same at the attitude that many people ascribe to ChinaBounder – one of exploitation and indulgence. China wants, needs, takes; more money, more resources, more luxury goods, more conspicuous consumption. The mindset of China (swept with a broad brush, coasting over the minority of exceptions) is that of the child in the sweetshop, greedy for every colored bonbon.

ChinaBounder and China – not at all so different.

‘Fault Lines On The Face Of China: 50 Reasons Why China May Never Be Great’ - Excerpt 62
“Shanghai is China’s fattest city, with 15.1% of boys and 9.2% of girls obese (as opposed to merely overweight), compared to an average of 11.9% for boys and 5% for girls nationwide. One of the reasons that boys are fatter than girls is that boys are still viewed as superior to girls, and thus are spoiled much more by parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

In Beijing, more than 50% of middle school and 60% of high school students have abnormally high blood pressure. A survey of more than 13 million students found that lung capacity – a key measure of overall health – had fallen by more than 300ml since 2000. To put this into context, the average lung capacity of a six-year-old is about 2100ml and for a 14-year-old about 3600ml.

According to China’s Ministry of Health, urban Chinese boys at the age of six are 2.5 inches taller and 6.6 pounds heavier than six-year-old urban kids 30 years ago. They are three feet 10.5 inches tall and weigh, on average, 47 pounds. In America, urban six-year-olds average out at the same height and are just three pounds heavier. China is catching up fast.

In China, the saying that ‘A fat child is a healthy child’ is still widely believed.”