Congrats Beijing! You're China's Chubbiest City
Hey Beijingers: don’t be too quick to look down your nose at other cities just yet. Although China’s capital dwellers are the nation’s second tallest (based on a report via Meet Beijing), that lofty distinction is now being weighed down by news that Beijingers are China’s fattest citizens.
READ: Beaten by a Hair: Beijingers Are the Second Tallest in China
The China Center for Disease Control recently determined that 25.9 percent of Beijingers are 肥胖 (féipàng), or obese (read more about that in Chinese here). That's the highest ranking of 31 provinces covered in the survey and far above the national average.
That trend won't, however, come as too big a surprise to anyone following news about China's overall obesity rates. In 2016, for instance, the Middle Kingdom went extra large like an order of McDonald's fries, surpassing the US to become the country with the largest number of fat people in the world. What's more: if those trends continue, researchers predict that a staggering 25 percent of Chinese children will be overweight by 2030.
Beijing is becoming known for its bloated bellies
So what should all that belly bulging in Beijing be blamed on? Some researchers from other locales say there are plenty of 'fat traps' in this day and age, all of which are plentiful in Beijing and modern Chinese society. Prime example: in 2014, the Endocrine Society reported that exposure to artificial light at night is disruptive to the metabolism (which doesn't bode well for the 25 million Chinese people who only read books via their phones). Living in a frenzied, noisy city like Beijing can apparently also widen your waistline after wallopping your eardrums. As Sweden's Karolinska Institutet put it in their report: "Urban residents constantly exposed to noise pollution from trains, airplanes or cars had a 25 percent higher risk of being heavier than people living in quieter areas."
Urban residents constantly exposed to noise pollution from trains, airplanes or cars had a 25 percent higher risk of being heavier than people living in quieter areas.
So Beijing ren might want to grab some sleep masks and earplugs to keep out all that fattening artificial light and noise pollution. Laying off the Peking duck, Yanjing, and milk tea might not hurt either.
READ: "Beijing Bikini" Successfully Satirizes Chinese Custom of Exposing Beer Bellies
Photos: NPR.org, sadanduseless.com
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