Health awareness rises in Chinese youth

Liang Jing, a 32-year-old white-collar worker in Beijing, never thought that she would get "addicted" to checking her blood sugar level from a continuous glucose monitor.

She wakes up every day, looks at her blood sugar level, and checks it before she goes to bed at night.

She uses a CGM to aid her weight loss efforts. With the device, she can see real-time data on how exercise and diet affect her blood sugar level.

Checking her blood sugar levels has become an indispensable part of her life. At work, she checks her app every few minutes, almost matching the device's three-minute intervals. During meals, she monitors her blood sugar in real-time, watching how her food intake impacts her levels. "I don't even watch TV dramas anymore. I just watch the CGM," she said.

Liang discovered that whole grains have a lesser impact on her blood sugar than white rice. If she takes a walk when her blood sugar spikes, the steep curve quickly levels out.

Chinese youth are increasingly concerned about their blood sugar levels, particularly as the diabetes rate remains high and is affecting more people of the younger generations.

Currently, the main types of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes requires daily insulin and has no known cause or prevention. Type 2 diabetes, often preventable, affects how the body uses glucose and is linked to being overweight, lack of exercise, and genetics, making up the majority of all cases. Prediabetes indicates higher-than-normal blood sugar levels, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, but it can often be reversed.

CGM devices, initially designed for managing diabetes, have now caught the attention of some young people.

A CGM is a device that attaches to the abdomen or arm. A soft needle is inserted under the skin to monitor blood sugar levels continuously. The device connects to an app via Bluetooth and generates a continuous blood sugar curve over 14 days.

On social media platforms like Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, videos tagged with "sugar control" have amassed 20.8 billion views, reflecting the growing interest in blood sugar management, especially among younger people.

In these videos, young individuals with abnormal blood sugar levels manage their conditions through glucose tests, food recommendations, and exercise, while those with regular blood sugar proactively control their sugar intake to aid in weight loss and overall wellness.

For Liang, weight loss has been a painful process. She often has to make great efforts to exercise more and eat less before seeing a bit of success.

The CGM has been an important tool for her weight loss efforts. The device records her food intake and every step she takes, revealing her blood sugar level. In 14 days, she wore the device and lost 2.5 kilograms.

Wang Xu, who works in Changsha, Hunan province, said she has worn CGM twice under the recommendation of a friend.

Discussions about the amount of calories each type of food contains have become very popular among young people as healthy living and body image have become more important for them, the 27-year-old said.

She often eats takeout foods and wants to keep an eye on which food can significantly increase her blood sugar level so she can avoid eating them and adjust her diet.

However, she said she has been anxious about the readings on the CGM devices and checking them uncontrollably.

She said she won't wear it all the time. After she learns about which food is healthier by monitoring her blood sugar level and forming a proper diet accordingly, she will rarely use it anymore.