Skip to main content

Epidemiology of Obesity in Children and Adolescents in China

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Springer Series on Epidemiology and Public Health ((SSEH,volume 2))

Abstract

Over the past three decades, China, the world’s most populous country whose population accounts for one-fifth of the global population, has enjoyed impressive economic developments. People in China have experienced many dramatic changes in their lifestyles thanks to the increases in family income and availability of food as a result of China’s economic reform and the growing global trade (CSSB 2008). Meanwhile, people’s lifestyles are becoming more sedentary compared to decades ago. Compared to other groups, children and adolescents are likely to be affected to a greater extent by these changes, partially due to China’s family planning policy, the so called “one child policy” initiated in the later 1970s, which enables parents and grandparents to provide their children with more resources and care.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bell, A.C., Ge, K., & Popkin, B.M. (2002). The road to obesity or the path to prevention: motorized transportation and obesity in China. Obesity Research, 10, 277–283.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bray, G.A. (1998). Obesity: a time bomb to be defused. Lancet, 352, 160–161.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2009). People’s Republic of China. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html (assessed March 9, 2009).

  • China State Statistics Bureau (CSSB) (2008). China statistical yearbook 2002 to 2008. Beijing: China Statistics Press (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole, T.J., Bellizzi, M.C., Flegal, K.M., & Dietz, W.H. (2000). Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. British Medical Journal, 320, 1240–1243.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davison, K.K., & Birch, L.L. (2001). Childhood overweight: a contextual model and recommendations for future research. Obesity Reviews, 2, 159–171.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Du, S., Mroz, T.A., Zhai, F., & Popkin, B.M. (2004). Rapid income growth adversely affects diet quality in China – particularly for the poor! Social Science & Medicine, 59, 1505–1515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Economist (2008). Fast food in China: here comes a whopper – the world’s second largest burger chain is gearing up in China (February 10, 2009); http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12488790.

  • Hill, J.O., & Peters, J.C. (1998). Environmental contributions to the obesity epidemic. Science, 280, 1371–1374.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ji, C.Y., & Cheng, T.O. (2008). Prevalence and geographic distribution of childhood obesity in China in 2005. International Journal of Cardiology, 131, 1–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ji, C.Y., & Working Group on Obesity in China (WGOC). (2005). Report on childhood obesity in China (1): body mass index reference for screening overweight and obesity in Chinese school-age children. Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, 18, 390–400.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ji, C.Y., & Working group on Obesity in China (WGOC). (2007). Report on childhood obesity in China (4) prevalence and trends of overweight and obesity in Chinese urban school-age children and adolescents, 1985–2000. Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, 20, 1–10.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ji, C.Y., & Working Group on Obesity in China (WGOC). (2008). The prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity and the epidemic changes in 1985–2000 for Chinese school-age children and adolescents. Obesity Reviews, 9, Suppl 1, 78–81.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jing, J. (2000). Feeding China’s little emperors: food, children, and social change. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuczmarski, R.J., Ogden, C.L., & Guo, S.S. (2002). 2000 CDC growth charts for the United States: methods and development. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital and Health Statistics, Series 11, 246, 1–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, A., Zhao, L., Yu, D., & Yu, W. (2008). Study on malnutrition status and changing trend of children under 5 years old in China. Wei Sheng Yan Jiu, 37, 324–326 (in Chinese).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ma, G.S., Li, Y.P., Wu, Y.F., Zhai, F.Y., Cui, Z.H., Hu, X.Q., Luan, D.C., Hu, Y,H., & Yang, X.G. (2005). The prevalence of body overweight and obesity and its changes among Chinese people during 1992 to 2002. Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine, 39, 311–315 (in Chinese).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mi, J., Cheng, H., Hou, D.Q., Duan, J.L., Teng, H.H., & Wang, Y.F. (2006). Prevalence of overweight obesity among children and adolescents in Beijing in 2004. Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi, 27, 469–474 (in Chinese).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Misra, A. (2003). Revisions of cutoffs of body mass index to define overweight and obesity are needed for the Asian-ethnic groups. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, 27, 1294–1296.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ng, S.W., Zhai, F., & Popkin, B.M. (2008). Impacts of China’s edible oil pricing policy on nutrition. Social Science & Medicine, 66, 414–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Popkin, B.M. (2008). Will China’s nutrition transition overwhelm its health care system and slow economic growth? Health Affairs, 27, 1064–1076.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y. (2004). Epidemiology of childhood obesity – methodological aspects and guidelines: what’s new? International Journal of Obesity, 28, 21–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y., & Lobstein, T. (2007). Worldwide trends in childhood obesity. International Journal of Pediatric Obesity, 1, 11–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y., Beydoun, M.A., Liang, L., Caballero, B., & Kumanyika, S.K. (2008a). Will all Americans become overweight or obese? Estimating the progression and cost of the US obesity epidemic. Obesity, 16, 2323–2330.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Z., Zhai, F., Du, S., & Popkin, B. (2008b). Dynamic shifts in Chinese eating behaviors. Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 17, 123–130.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • WHO (2000). Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Report of a WHO consultation. WHO Technical Report Series, No. 894, Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO (2004). WHO Expert Consultation. Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies. Lancet, 363, 157–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO, IADO, & IOTF (2000). The Asia-Pacific perspective: redefining obesity and its treatment (December 20, 2001); http://www.asso.org.au/profiles/profs/reportsguides/obesity/371.

  • Wikipedia (2009). Economy of the People’s Republic of China. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_People’s_Republic_of_China (assessed March 9, 2009).

  • World Bank (2009). Country brief – China. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/CHINAEXTN/0,,menuPK:318960∼pagePK:141132∼piPK:141107∼theSitePK:318950,00.html (assessed March 9, 2009).

  • Xie, B., Chou, C., Spruijt-Metz, D., Reynolds, K., Clark, F., Palmer, P.H., Gallaher, P., Sun, P., Guo, Q., & Johnson, C.A. (2007). Socio-demographic and economic correlates of overweight status in Chinese adolescents. American Journal of Health Behavior, 31, 339–352.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, G., Kong, L., Zhao, W., Wan, X., Zhai, Y., Chen, L.C., & Koplan, J.P. (2008). Emergence of chronic non-communicable diseases in China. Lancet, 372, 1697–1705.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, X., & Zhai, F. (2006). Report of the 2002 Chinese National Nutrition and Health Survey (3rd Report) (pp. 87–88). Beijing: People’s Health Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhai, F., Wang, H., Du, S., He, Y., Wang, Z., Ge, K., & Popkin, B.M. (2007). Lifespan nutrition and changing socio-economic conditions in China. Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 16, Suppl 1, 374–382.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, W., Zhai, F., Hu, J., Wang, J., Yang, Z., Kong, L., & Chen, C. (2008). Economic burden of obesity-related chronic diseases in Mainland China. Obesity Reviews, 9, Suppl 1, 62–67.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, B.F., & Cooperative Meta-Analysis Group of the Working Group on Obesity in China (2002). Predictive values of body mass index and waist circumference for risk factors of certain related diseases in Chinese adults – study on optimal cut-off points of body mass index and waist circumference in Chinese adults. Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, 15, 83–96.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Youfa Wang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Wang, Y., Mi, J., Tao, Y., Chen, P. (2011). Epidemiology of Obesity in Children and Adolescents in China. In: Moreno, L., Pigeot, I., Ahrens, W. (eds) Epidemiology of Obesity in Children and Adolescents. Springer Series on Epidemiology and Public Health, vol 2. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6039-9_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6039-9_11

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-6038-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-6039-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics