Chinese health deteriorating as Western foods become more prominent

Monday, August 13, 2012 by: Ben
Tags: Chinese health, Western foods, McDonalds

(NaturalNews) A recent study found in the journal Circulation showed that Chinese men and women who ate Western fast food raised their risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Take into consideration the rapid expansion of fast food giants like McDonald's, Burger King, and Subway in China, and you are setting things up for disaster.

Since 2005, there has been a five-fold increase in obesity compared to 2011. Today, according to the World Health Organization, there are more than 38 percent of Chinese over the age of 15 that are overweight. On the same note, demand for meat has increased exponentially, rising over 400 percent from the early 1990's through 2007. Today, more than half of the world's pigs are eaten in China.

Due to China's booming population, fast food giants have found it extremely profitable to be prominent in the market there. McDonald's stated that it will open a restaurant in China every day through 2015. Over the next few years, Burger King says it will open nearly 1,000 stores as well. Similar to the West, these fast food menus are dominated by meat-heavy food items. It isn't surprising with these figures that the Chinese are also eating twice as much fast food as they were in 1990.

The Journal of the Academy of Nutrition conducted a study that focused on the anti-inflammatory benefits of soy in Chinese women. It shows that the consumption of soy products reduced inflammation. Inflammation is linked to type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

With more Chinese steering away from their traditional diet, it has led to more health problems. This could be surprising as some have said that Chinese food is rice-heavy and most dishes are fatty meat dishes, leading straight to obesity and heart disease. However, properly prepared, the exact opposite is true says Chinese food expert Lorraine Clissold. In fact, the Chinese way of eating is extremely healthy and fulfilling, it fights illness and prolongs life. She also states that the Chinese don't necessarily count calories, since a proper Chinese diet won't make you fat. The truth is that the prominence of Western over processed, sugary, nutrient-free foods do.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/HL08Cb02.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

http://www.care2.com

About the author:
Ben enjoys writing about the benefits of green tea at Tendig.com, a revenue sharing site that publishes unique and interesting articles.