Quarter of Chinese adults are overweight, obese: US study

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Declining physical activity and a shift towards a Western diet are driving up obesity rates in China, with more than 25 percent of adults now considered overweight or obese, a study warned Tuesday.

Researchers writing in the July/August issue of the journal Health Affairs predicted these rates would double by 2028 unless the Chinese government took action -- with the rest of the developing world likely to follow suit.

"What's happening in China should be seen as a marker for what is going to hit the rest of the developing world if we fail to act," said study author Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina.

"We need to find the right investments and regulations to encourage...