Nutrition Notes: "Lean" Asia Changing Before Our Eyes

Tuesday, July 29, 2008 :: infoZine Staff
As published by Kansas City InfoZine

By Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN - Rapid economic changes in Asian countries like China and India have ushered in marked nutrition and lifestyle changes. As Western foods and lifestyle habits traverse the globe, countries long known for leanness are now facing an obesity epidemic - one that has developed even more quickly than it did in the U.S.

Washington, D.C. - American Institute for Cancer Research - infoZine - In China, incidence of overweight and obesity in most population groups has more than doubled in less than 10 years.

According to a 2002 survey, about 30 percent of adults were overweight or obese. While that's small compared to 66 percent of adults in the U.S., this is a dramatic change for a population where excess body fat was once rare. Change is occurring even faster in youth. The proportion of those aged 7 to 17 who are overweight or obese has increased three-fold since the 1980s, especially in the larger cities.

India still faces problems with malnutrition and underweight, especially among poor and rural populations. However, about 25 percent of men and 36 percent of women face health risks associated with overweight. This represents a dramatic increase from the 2 to 3 percent who were overweight in the 1970s. Over-nutrition is especially a problem among wealthier and urban groups, where it may affect as much as 46 percent of the population.

Just as in Western countries, this increase in overweight is bringing a surge in health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. In fact, some research suggests that similar levels of body fat may pose even more health risk in people of Asian descent.

Urban areas in India are facing increased rates of metabolic syndrome - a constellation of medical problems such as hypertension and diabetes that is linked to excess waistline fat.

Even children in India are increasingly developing high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome. Overall, in many Asian countries, more deaths are now attributed to chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes than to infectious disease and nutritional deficiencies.

One factor: diet is changing in these countries with Westernization. China's historically low-fat, plant-based diet is being altered substantially. Vegetable consumption is dropping and the country has seen increases in red meat, animal fat and total fat consumption, which are linked to greater overweight. Recently, high-sugar soft drinks have begun adding even more calories. Food surveys in India show greater consumption of fried food and increases in average calories and saturated fat consumed (generally from high-fat meats and dairy products).

At the same time that fat and calorie consumption are increasing, populations are moving from rural to urban areas and increasingly relying on cars and buses for transportation instead of walking and bicycling. This increase in sedentary lifestyles burns fewer calories, causing the higher-calorie diet changes to create an even more dramatic effect on weight.

Government officials in these countries have already sounded the alarm, noting that the cost of dealing with the anticipated increase in health care expenses could be devastating. It's a tough sell, however, because after years of famine and malnutrition, many see excess body fat as a sign of health and prosperity. As an ironic twist, Western countries are now highlighting the traditional Asian plant-based diet and active lifestyle as a potential answer to our mounting obesity-induced health crisis.