The Economist Examines Nutrition In China

The Economist examines nutrition in China, where economic growth is preventing widespread malnutrition but increasing obesity rates.

The Economist: Malnutrition: The hungry and forgotten
“…China used to have more undernourished people than anywhere in the world except India: about 300 million, or 30 percent of the population in 1980. Economic growth has pulled half of them out of poverty and hunger. But that still leaves about 150 million, mainly in the countryside. Out of 88 million children aged six to 15 in the poorest rural areas, around a third suffer from anemia because of a lack of iron, according to survey data…” (6/14).

The Economist: Obesity: Chubby little emperors
“…More than a quarter of the adult population, or roughly 350 million people, is overweight or obese (more than 60 million squeeze into the latter camp). That is at least twice as many as are under-nourished. With rising incomes and more diverse diets, Chinese people are consuming much more fatty food and fizzy drinks. … This is producing a health calamity, both in heart disease (which now accounts for over a third of deaths) and in a less-noticed explosion of diabetes, which is closely linked to obesity…” (6/14).

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