Citation
Popkin, Barry M. (2008). Will China’s Nutrition Transition Overwhelm Its Health Care System and Slow Economic Growth?. Health Affairs, 27, 1064-76.Abstract
Rapid social and economic change is transforming China, with enormous implications for its population and economy. More than a fifth of China's adult population is overweight, related to changing dietary and physical activity patterns. Overweight and poor diets are becoming a greater burden for the poor than for the rich, with subsequent large increases in hypertension, stroke, and adult-onset diabetes. The related economic costs represent 4-8 percent of the economy. Public investments are needed to head off a huge increase in the morbidity, disability, absenteeism, and medical care costs linked with this nutritional shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]