China seeks to shed weight with lighter foods

As the evening deepened, Wu Ke peeled back the silver lid of a small bottle and the fresh scent of green juice rose up to greet her as she plunged her straw through the foil.

Her first sip was small but deliberate — this was her dinner. The 29-year-old primary school teacher in Beijing is mindful of her health and she is determined to stick to her diet, one sip at a time.

The recent Golden Week holiday has fueled interest in liquid salads — a blended drink made from vegetables and fruit marketed as a fresh solution for those eager to undo the effects of holiday overindulgence. On Oct 7, the final day of the holiday, online searches for the product surged on WeChat, Tencent's all-in-one social media app.

This isn't the first time liquid salad has found itself in the spotlight this year. In July, HeyTea, a leading contemporary tea chain in China, partnered with Anta Sports to introduce a drink made from kale, apple, lemon and chia seeds. Around 1.6 million bottles, priced at 19 yuan ($2.7) each, were bought within the first few days of the Paris Olympics.

The growing popularity of liquid salads and lighter foods in China underscores an increasing health consciousness and trend toward weight control.

Many office workers are now opting for bowls of greens topped with beef, chicken breast or salmon for lunch. The trend has also been linked to the likes of fast food operators like KFC, most famously known for its "finger lickin' good" offerings, and to the rise of more health-conscious offerings through the launch of brands like Kpro, a new health-conscious eatery, in cities like Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Beijing, Shanghai, and most recently Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

Even festival staples like the high-calorie mooncake have been revamped with healthier fillings or offered in mini packages to cater to calorie-conscious customers. "I prefer options with cleaner labels over complex alternatives that have a laundry list of ingredients," says Wu.

The statistics are weighty. According to official data in 2020, over half of Chinese adults are overweight or obese and the rate could reach 65.3 percent by 2030.

China struggled for centuries to feed its vast population, with undernourishment a genuine concern for many families up until the late 1970s. Obesity only emerged as a public health challenge after the economy took off.

As living standards improve, dietary habits have moved away from traditional plant-based consumption in China. While incorporating more animal proteins has improved overall nutrition, it has also led to excessive fat intake, says professor Wang Youfa, head of the obesity branch of the China Nutrition Society and deputy director of the Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center.

Zhang Peng, chief bariatric and metabolic physician at the Beijing Friendship Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University, identified traditional beverages, snacks, takeout foods, and dining out as leading contributors to obesity in the country.

Against this backdrop, light foods have increasingly gained traction among consumers. A bold estimate released at a July industry conference in Hangzhou projected that the market for sugar-free and low-sugar foods will exceed 900 billion yuan by 2027.

Some consumers, however, complain about the relatively high prices of light food. A survey indicates around 71 percent of light foods cost between 20 yuan and 40 yuan. In 2023, the average annual salary for employees in the private sector was 68,340 yuan.

Xiaodou, a 39-year-old employee at a bank in Guangdong province, is 1.6 meters in height and successfully lost 20 kilograms over seven months, bringing her weight down to 55 kg in May.

Besides workouts, her secret is reducing her intake of carbohydrates, cooking oil and salt. As a mother of two, she prepares her dinner in the morning and takes it to work, allowing her to enjoy supper by 6 pm, a time she believes is more conducive to her health.

"I tried the lighter food available on the market, but it didn't seem to work for me. So, what I've done is to replace unhealthy foods in my diet with healthier options little by little. Some of these replacements are actually more economical," she says.

Experts corroborate her claims. Zhang says that while obesity is often associated with the meat-based diets of the West, excessive carbohydrate intake is a significant contributor to obesity in China.

He says that cooking oil usage in China exceeds recommended levels by over 40 percent while the intake of seafood, eggs, fruit, vegetables, dairy and beans falls significantly short of recommendations. "This unbalanced nutritional intake increases the risk of chronic diseases," he says.

Adding to Xiaodou's experience, a medical cosmetologist also surnamed Zhang from Beijing has turned to cooking to maintain her health.

The 39-year-old has shifted her meals to include beef, chicken, vegetables, brown rice, corn and sweet potatoes after successfully losing 12.5 kg. The change occurred within two months through a weight loss therapy that combined Chinese massage and meal replacements.

"I trust the meals I prepare for myself more," she says.

Xiaodou rejects the idea of following a shock diet. Instead, she advocates for a more natural approach that is both realistic and compassionate.

"Weight control is one of the few things in the world we can absolutely achieve on our own. So, trust yourself," she says.