China facing obesity crisis as forecasts predict 65% will be overweight by 2030

The problems could cost the equivalent of US$57 billion, around 22 per cent of the total national health budget

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Children take a ride with adults at a park in Fuyang, Anhui province. Nearly one third of Chinese children aged over seven could be overweight or obese by 2030, according to the National Health Commission. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:00pm, 6 Apr 2025Updated: 8:41pm, 6 Apr 2025

China, plagued with famine six or seven decades ago, is facing an obesity crisis, prompting warnings that more than 65 per cent of adults could be overweight or obese by 2030.

Beijing is racing against time before chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular problems place further pressure on the country’s healthcare system.

Last year, the National Health Commission (NHC) and other government departments launched a three-year plan to tackle the problem, which includes diet and exercise recommendations.

Last month it stepped up its efforts, by announcing a plan to introduce multidisciplinary “weight management clinics” at hospitals across the nation.

According to a study published in The Lancet last month, by 2021 the number of overweight or obese adults in China had passed the 400 million mark – compared with 180 million in India or 172 million in the United States. This figure is projected to rise to 630 million by 2050.

The study used the World Health Organization’s definition, which classes people with a body mass index (BMI) – a person’s weight divided by the square of their height – of over 30 as obese.