Will China’s Nutrition Transition Overwhelm Its Health Care System And Slow Economic Growth?

Abstract

Rapid social and economic change is transforming China, with enormous implications for its population and economy. More than a fifth of China’s adult population is overweight, related to changing dietary and physical activity patterns. Overweight and poor diets are becoming a greater burden for the poor than for the rich, with subsequent large increases in hypertension, stroke, and adult-onset diabetes. The related economic costs represent 4–8 percent of the economy. Public investments are needed to head off a huge increase in the morbidity, disability, absenteeism, and medical care costs linked with this nutritional shift.