Latest comments posted about French fries and fat kids - Asia’s next epidemic on ChinaDialogue en-gb http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/295-French-fries-and-fat-kids-Asia-s-next-epidemic http://staging.chinadialogue.net/images/cdlogo.gif http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/295-French-fries-and-fat-kids-Asia-s-next-epidemic When Doctor Roger Tatoud mentioned about the Western high-fat food, such as those provided by McDonald's, it reminds me of the introduction of the food. It would be a better story if the West did not expand the market of such food to China. The fact is that, these restaurants can gain much profits in China and can easily evade tax. This makes the firms have much more incentives to enter the Chinese market, meaning a higher probability for kids to take fat, salt and sugar. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:54:21 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-9026 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-9026 Obesity is not so common in the district where I live. I can see lots of ribby guys when going to public bathhouse (by Fangfang CHEN) Mon, 16 Mar 2009 23:03:34 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-8542 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-8542 Anyway, whatever responsibilities the government and society hold for this, I think one should be responsible for his/her own health. One does not get fat in one day, and one should know how to control his/her own diet, as well as their children's. I think it's rather easy to prevent oneself from putting on weight. yansy Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:01:01 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-7163 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-7163 With an unhealthy lifestyle today, obesity among youngsters is set to be a serious problem. Apart from fast food, changed household diets and lack of exercise is also to blame for the phenomenon. It is inappropriate to claim that Chinese food is healthier than western food. Instead the two categories should be compared case by case. We should take a multi-thronged approach to this problem. On the part of government, it can issue guidelines for food processing industry since it is hard to introduce mandatory standards. The government can also invest in health education and promote popular participation in sports and exercise. Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:45:45 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-7103 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-7103 I think chinese traditional food is not a big problem. However, it is must be aware of the situation of American junk food comes into China. There are highest number of KFC in big cities in China. Children like KFC. Lots of people, who are in love, like it as well. People know that most of the food are chicken legs, wings and chips. There are so many KFC, but one chicken has only two legs and two wings, where are these chicken legs and wings from. According to some report, one chicken can have four legs and six wings. These chicken have already in KFC even before they have feather. What make chicken have this kind of ability? They become food before the medicine fully affected. Changes must happen to those who eat them. Do children have obesity like KFC? Wed, 22 Aug 2007 11:37:42 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-4229 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-4229 1. Chinese food is healthier than Western food and fast food. Anything is healthier than fast food and who chooses to eat fast food? The consumer. No fast food company attempts to hide what it produces. You can see the french fries sitting in oil and hear the burgers on the grill. It is your choice to walk into or out of the fast food restaurant. Chinese food is no healthier than western food and in some ways less healthy when you included salads, baked meats and steamed items. Many chinese dishes are fried in oil. And no matter what you eat, living a sedentary lifestyle means you are not using the energy you consume. While many chinese used to ride bikes and do exercises, many now do not (at least those under 50). This tendency increases as students become office workers and sit around in a cubicle for 10-12 hours per day then go home to watch DVDs or go shopping. 2. "But this authoritarian/paternal initiative is something which students in China (and the West) ought to salute since it actually encourages exercise from an early age," That "initiative" is a small part of China's much bigger governance problems. Authoritarianism is not the answer to anything. If it was, China's environment would be cleaner than the US's or Europe's. nanheyangrouchuan Sat, 18 Aug 2007 18:42:01 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-4208 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-4208 Obesity is a problem. Personally, i think there is no need for government to enact law to curb the food industry, what the official should do is to publicize the bad effects of eating too much fast food for its citizens.The most important is the parents should know the latent danger of having dinner in fast food restaurant,especially for the children. Jane Sun, 03 Jun 2007 09:09:40 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-3803 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-3803 I've often wondered how these big companies get away with making so much money on such unhealthy products - in any part of the world. Not to mention the environmental impacts of their packaging and farming. There's got to be a way to legislate against it. Or to tax it, like cigarettes. Surely, it couldn't taste worse, by being of better quality? The PETA in the US has recently won some victories against/with Burger King after their "Murder King" campaign. http://www.goveg.com/murderk_release.asp Fri, 04 May 2007 08:06:02 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-3632 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-3632 As a matter of fact, I don't think traditional Chinese foods should account for this. We must pay attention to the expension of American fastfood, or junk food, in China. As mentioned in the above comment, obesity is on the rise in Eastern China, the relatively developed cities by the sea. And they have lots of McDonald's and KFC. Therefore, I think that government should control the number of McDonald's and KFC in China. And they should require the food industry to include nutritional components of their products on the package. By doing so, our younger generation will start to pay attention to calorie and fat content of their food. Otherwise, obesity will become the next fundamental national condition of China. Sat, 14 Apr 2007 21:13:59 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-3524 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-3524 This phenomenon is real, but largely restricted to China's eastern Provinces where the wealthy live. That said, even in Shanghai and Beijing westerners feel uncomfortable next to the locals who mostly engage in regular exercise. Pay a visit to any school in China and the playgrounds will be packed with girls and boys playing basketball, football etc - the product, most likely, of morning exercises. Some students in China dislike mandatory morning exercises. Indeed, some schools/universities areas may only adhere loosely to their practice. But this authoritarian/paternal initiative is something which students in China (and the West) ought to salute since it actually encourages exercise from an early age, rather than hanging around bike-shed smoking cigarettes. Both bad and good habits form early in life. Fri, 08 Sep 2006 13:42:52 +0000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-216 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/295#comment-216