With wealth comes fat

Throughout China, but especially in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, there is now an ongoing fight against fat and flab. Diet fads and weight loss centers are on the rise.
Experts say reasons for the weight gain, apart from less than optimum diets, include the shortage of green space and parks in Chinese cities — and general attitudes toward exercise and leisure. An estimated 200 million Chinese adults are considered overweight and, of those, about 75 million are heavy enough to be categorized as obese, according to health experts, The LA Times reported.
"The idea of going and mucking around in your garden, that’s like being a peasant. Why would you ride a bicycle when you can drive a car? Luxury is idleness," the report quotes Paul French as saying in his recent book, "Fat China: How Expanding Waistlines are Changing a Nation," which he co-authored with Matthew Crabbe.