11 - The nutrition transition in China: A new stage of the Chinese diet

Abstract

China represents one of the most rapidly developing countries in the world. In the past two decades, the annual growth rate of the gross domestic product (GDP) was more than 8%; the highest rate in recent world history. China has achieved remarkable economic progress and high levels of education. Annual income per capita is now almost 20 times greater than 20 years ago, reaching $400 in rural areas and $850 in urban areas in 1999. With these economic shifts, and many related social changes, has come a rapid evolution of the Chinese diet. The Chinese cuisine has one of the oldest histories. The starting point for modern Chinese cuisine is the cultivation and consumption of cereals. Yi Yin, a famous cook and prime minister, developed the standards that are still followed, which stress the mastery of cooking techniques and the harmony of flavors. Foods are classified by nature and their flavor. The absence of excessive oil, other higher fat ingredients, and cooking options from the traditional cuisine, and even from the regional cuisines that emerged during the Ching and Manchu dynasties is surprising. The excessive use of meat in the overall diet and the heavy additions of oils in modern dishes are new dimensions. There appears to be no ancient precedent for the current “Westernization” of the Chinese diet. The classic Chinese diet includes cereals and vegetables with a few animal foods. China is transforming very rapidly from the pattern of the present receding famine stage to that of diet-related degenerative diseases.