The shifting burden of obesity: Changes in the distribution of obesity in China, 2010–2015

Abstract

This study examines the changes in the effects of income, education, and urban/rural residency on the risk of obesity within the Chinese society in recent years. Using pooled data from five waves of the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) between 2010 and 2015, it reveals significant shifts in the distribution of the obese population within the Chinese society. China is now at a critical point in the transition with respect to obesity. The positive income–obesity relationship is about to turn negative; the obesity-depressing effect of education continues to increase; and the urban–rural gap in obesity is soon to disappear and reverse. Consequently, individuals with lower income or less education and rural residents face increasingly higher risks of obesity over time. The distribution of obesity in today’s Chinese society increasingly mirrors and may aggravate existing social inequalities.