There has been a lot of talk in the news recently about China's "obesity epidemic"—often mentioned in the same breath as the rising popularity and spread of Western fast food chains. As evidenced by simply living here and opening one's eyes occasionally, Chinese people are (and always have been) a notoriously thin nation. Despite this, however, the culture itself has only relatively recently embraced the Western ideal of thin as desirable. With this newfound beauty ideal, will there ever be room for being chubby in China?

The relationship between weight and status, historically speaking

Historically, being overweight was something to celebrate in ancient China. It acted as an outward sign of wealth and prosperity, as only the wealthy could afford fatty or sweet foods, or even buy enough food to become fat. For most people who were merely peasants or farmers, food remained scarce and thinness was attained through necessity, not by choice. The average Chinese citizen ate meat only on special occasions (if at all), with normal meals consisting of rice and vegetables. This can be seen in ancient paintings and other Chinese artwork, which typically depict rather chubby women and "little emperors" as reflections of the ideal of beauty and wealth at the time.

Western weight ideals + increasing wealth + fast food = doom?

As the cover of any fashion or pop culture magazine here in China will demonstrate, that whole idea of "chubby is charming" is on the decline. However, it's an undeniable fact that people in China are actually getting bigger—and quickly. After the 1980's reforms, and most noticeably in the past fifteen years or so, the rate of overweight or obese Chinese people has been steadily climbing. Yes, those pesky new fast food chains are not helping the problem, but other changes have also been attributed to this country-wide weight gain, such as riding the bus, taking a taxi, or driving electric motorbikes to work instead of walking or biking. According to Bloomberg News, which reported on a study done by UNC Chapel Hill nutrition professor Barry Popkin , nearly a quarter of Chinese residents are now overweight or obese. That is a whopping 325 million people in China, triple the amount that it was eleven years earlier. Popkin states that this is in part due to "China's rising prosperity, which allows more people to afford meat, dairy foods, and vegetable oils." Consequently, Chinese people (especially women) are now confronted with the Western ideal of thinness, while simultaneously living a lifestyle that makes it easier than ever to become overweight.

Plastic surgery: a dangerous fix

Unfortunately, this discrepancy between wanting to be thin but having access to food that will make one fat is leaving plenty of women to seek drastic (and sometimes bizarre) measures to reduce their weight. Plastic surgery remains one of the most popular, and oftentimes dangerous, ways that Chinese women tend to seek what they consider perfection. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery recently estimated (since the Chinese government refuses to release any official numbers) that China ranks third, behind the United States and Brazil, in the number of cosmetic plastic surgeries performed each year. And according to The New York Times, that equates to more than two million surgeries annually: "a number that is doubling every year." In China, looks are much more important for getting even an ordinary office job than it is in, say, the United States (where hiring based on looks is against the law). So until that changes, expect the number of liposuctions and other plastic surgeries to continue to rise.

If the choice is chubby or nothing, will Chinese men buck the "thin is in" trend?

It has been reported by various sources, including the United States government's Congressional Executive Commission on China, that by 2020 there will be 30-40 million more men of "marriageable" age than women in China (due to the one-child policy and the continuation of sex-selective abortions). This means that men's choices will get a lot slimmer (no pun intended), while women will have ample suitors knocking at their, or their parents', doors. So will Chinese men get over the modern societal standard of having a thin wife and choose someone from the increasingly common overweight category? Or will they abstain from legal wedlock altogether and get their jollies somewhere else? Well, if the more frequent sightings on the street of thin men with heavier girls indicates anything, an extra cheeseburger or two isn't always a deal breaker. In fact, The Shanghaiist cites Hubei's Chutian Metro Daily as reporting that "many Chinese men are on the lookout for larger women to marry due to a Chinese fortune-telling tradition which states that chubby wives will bring their husbands good luck. A woman with a round face and larger figure is allegedly able to ensure good fortune for her husband."

Open discussion of eating disorders, beauty and health needed

Unfortunately, it seems that big equaling beautiful in China is still a long way off. While in the West, the rapid rise of anorexia and bulimia have triggered widespread campaigns to stop the madness of size 0 expectations, not much attention has been brought to these eating disorders in China. According to a Cambridge University psychological study entitled "Fat phobic and non-fat phobic anorexia nervosa: a comparative study of 70 Chinese patients in Hong Kong," Chinese women are far less likely to suffer from bulimia than from anorexia. Interestingly enough, the study found that "fear of fatness" was not the main reason given for Chinese anorexics (like it is in the West." Instead they cited reasons such as a fear of "epigastric bloating," "no appetite," or "wanting to eat less." These last two reasons would sound perfectly legitimate if it wasn't for the fact that these women refused any type of food to the point of emaciation and hospitalization. Sadly, this type of disorder is only likely to increase until a reconciliation can be made between being reed thin and overweight. Hopefully the concept of beauty and health—that a woman having some muscle or curves does not mean she's fat—will continue evolving in China and elsewhere in the world. It would be great to live in a world where everyone's loved both inside and out. 

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Keywords: Obesity in China eating disorders in China China fast food problems China beauty ideals