China houses the biggest obese population, says a study. (Photo : Getty Images)
China sees the "worst" childhood obesity situation in decades after a new study shows that young boys and girls who are obese have increased 17- and 14-fold, respectively.
A recently published research in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology that covered 29 years of statistics revealed that China is reaping its decision to adopt a Western lifestyle.
This, says the South China Morning Post, is a noteworthy feat considering that children in China used to be skinny.
"Thirty years ago, for every 100 children and adolescents you came across in China, you'd be hard pressed to find even one who was obese," the report began.
Now, it seems that the country's adaptation of the Western culture is having a negative effect on the population and the youth is the worst hit.
The Study
The study led by Dr. Zhang Yingxiu covered nearly 28,000 children and adolescents in the eastern province of Shandong in China.
Obtaining data from a total of six surveys, Zhang's team from the Shandong Centre for Disease Control and Prevention at the Shandong University Institute of Preventive Medicine in Jinan noted that the explosion in childhood obesity can be attributed to "socioeconomic and nutritional changes."
"China is a large agricultural country and our findings have huge implications for the entire nation," he stated. "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."
According to Zhang, Chinese people have a tendency to eat more without burning the calories they intake by doing enough physical activities.
He also pointed out that their diet has "shifted toward one that is high in fat and calories and low in fiber," which makes losing weight or maintaining a normal weight even more difficult.
Future Implications
In 1985, less than 1 percent of the total population of Chinese children and adolescents were considered obese or overweight.
Twenty-nine years later, the country saw a massive increase in this statistics with 17 percent of male and 9 percent of female children already exceeding what is considered as the normal weight range.
"This is extremely worrying," declared Professor Joep Perk, the spokesperson of the European Society of Cardiology on cardiovascular prevention.
"It is the worst explosion of childhood and adolescent obesity that I have ever seen," he added. "The study is large and well run, and cannot be ignored. China is set for an escalation of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and the popularity of the Western lifestyle will cost lives."
