Malnutrition and Obesity: China’s Emerging Health Crisis

Though the Chinese government’s incorporation of a market economy quickly brought China out of its repression and liberated its confined farmers, the economy’s explosive growth has not come without consequence. Today’s world paradox of obesity and hunger becoming equal opponents is reflected in China by the issues surrounding their rural and urban nutritional disparities. China’s past malnutrition issues have primarily come from its rural inhabitants, revolving around their extreme poverty. However, China’s future will be overwhelmed with new forms of malnutrition complexities and complications, in addition to its hungry population. These hardships, in the form of increasing obesity, hypertension, and heart disease, will come not from its rural centers, but from its emerging urban population, while large areas of poverty still remain for this developing county to eliminate. According to recent statistics, the biggest health crisis is in China’s cities, with 12% of adults and 8% of children classified as obese, while in the past ten years, China’s overall obesity rate has increased by an astronomical 97%. Despite China’s 9% growth rate, there is enormous wealth disparity between provinces. Official statistics show the number of people living in absolute poverty rose last year, the first increase in 25 years.