Guide Note

A study published in the August 2008 issue of Health Affairs reports that 25 percent of adults in China are obese or overweight.¹

The study found that the number of obese women in China doubled since 1989, while the number of obese men tripled in the same amount of time.²

Fast Facts

1. Study authored by Dr. Barry Popkin
2. Assessed 20,000 people across China
3. Study blames declining activity levels³
4. Also blames an increasingly Western diet³
5. Study estimates the rates will double by 2028³
6. In 1989 60 percent of households in China owned a television¹
7. In 2008, nearly every household owns a television¹

The study blames increasing prosperity and a growing middle class in China for the sharp increase in obesity levels. Specifically, it cites an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, increased ownership of cars, mechanized agriculture and a shift to a more Western diet as contributing factors.¹