By Neil Connor
China's child obesity problem has been described as an "epidemic"
More than a quarter of Chinese children will be obese or overweight by 2030, a new report says, as experts warn obesity rates among the young are reaching “epidemic” proportions.
Changing diets and a sedentary lifestyle will see about 28 per cent of seven to 18-year-olds, almost 50 million children, classified as obese or overweight by 2030, a new report from Peking University's School of Public Health said.
That compares with 23 per cent of boys and 14 per cent of girls being classified as overweight last year by the World Food Programme.
The population of young Chinese who were overweight in 1985 was just 6.15 million, said the Peking University report, which studied children in nine major Chinese cities.
The predicted 2030 figure marks a 43 per cent increase from 2014 when 35 million children were classed as overweight in the report, which used official weight classifications adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The dramatic increase in weight gain among Chinese youth has long been a cause of concern for authorities in China, who fear a strain on already over-stretched health services.
The new report said that 49bn yuan (£5.5bn) is expected to be spent on chronic diseases for obese and overweight adults by 2030, compared to 21.11bn yuan (£2.4bn) in 2002.
Ma Guansheng, a professor of nutrition at Peking University's public health school, told The Telegraph: “Childhood obesity has risen to epidemic proportions across the country.”
The study followed a report published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology last year which said 17 per cent of boys and nine percent of girls from rural areas were obese in 2014 -- up from under one per cent for both genders in 1985.
However, that report used a stricter classification of the Body Mass Index (BMI) than the WHO standard.
While China is getting fatter, it remains behind the US, where three times as many men and twice as many women are classed as obese or overweight.
The increase in white collar workers in China adopting ‘convenience lifestyles’ has been blamed by experts for the spiraling levels of obesity among city dwellers over the last three decades.
It emerged this week that a company in the northern city of Xi’an is encouraging workers to cut down on food through an awards system.
Employees at Xian Jingtian Investment Consulting receive 100 yuan (£11) for every kilogram of weight they shed, local media reported.
More than a quarter of Chinese children will be obese or overweight by 2030, a new report says, as experts warn obesity rates among the young are reaching “epidemic” proportions.
Changing diets and a sedentary lifestyle will see about 28 per cent of seven to 18-year-olds, almost 50 million children, classified as obese or overweight by 2030, a new report from Peking University's School of Public Health said.
That compares with 23 per cent of boys and 14 per cent of girls being classified as overweight last year by the World Food Programme.
The population of young Chinese who were overweight in 1985 was just 6.15 million, said the Peking University report, which studied children in nine major Chinese cities.
The predicted 2030 figure marks a 43 per cent increase from 2014 when 35 million children were classed as overweight in the report, which used official weight classifications adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The dramatic increase in weight gain among Chinese youth has long been a cause of concern for authorities in China, who fear a strain on already over-stretched health services.
The new report said that 49bn yuan (£5.5bn) is expected to be spent on chronic diseases for obese and overweight adults by 2030, compared to 21.11bn yuan (£2.4bn) in 2002.
Ma Guansheng, a professor of nutrition at Peking University's public health school, told The Telegraph: “Childhood obesity has risen to epidemic proportions across the country.”
The study followed a report published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology last year which said 17 per cent of boys and nine percent of girls from rural areas were obese in 2014 -- up from under one per cent for both genders in 1985.
However, that report used a stricter classification of the Body Mass Index (BMI) than the WHO standard.
While China is getting fatter, it remains behind the US, where three times as many men and twice as many women are classed as obese or overweight.
The increase in white collar workers in China adopting ‘convenience lifestyles’ has been blamed by experts for the spiraling levels of obesity among city dwellers over the last three decades.
It emerged this week that a company in the northern city of Xi’an is encouraging workers to cut down on food through an awards system.
Employees at Xian Jingtian Investment Consulting receive 100 yuan (£11) for every kilogram of weight they shed, local media reported.
Company’s boss Wang Xuebao told provincial news site CNWest.com: “Company employees were always sitting in the office, and they don’t move around enough.”
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