The number of overweight adults in China has increased from approximately 29 percent in 2002 to over 50 percent in 2020, according to a report by the National Health Commission, BBC reported.
More than half a billion people in China are overweight due to changes in lifestyle, diet and exercise habits, BBC reported. Additionally, about 16 percent of the Chinese are now obese, BBC reported.
Great Wall. By zhu difeng. Shutterstock.
The report says that Chinese citizens do not exercise as often, specifying that less than one-quarter of adults exercise at least once per week, BBC reported. Meat consumption has also increased while fruit consumption has decreased. (RELATED: Sharon Osbourne Claims Women Aren’t Happy When They’re Overweight After Adele’s Transformation Goes Viral)
Wang Dan, a nutritionist in Harbin, told Agence France-Presse news agency that many adults in China “exercise too little, are under too much pressure and have an unhealthy work schedule,” according to BBC.
The World Health Organization reported at the beginning of 2020 that obesity levels throughout the world have tripled since 1975, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries.
In 2016, almost 40 percent of adults in the world were overweight and 13 percent obese, according to the World Health Organization. In Qatar, a tiny Gulf state, more than 70 percent of people are overweight or obese, according to HBKU Press.