slim

[Scoobyqueen]

Chinese girls always say it is because the diet in China is different etc but that does not fit the input output theory.

[liuzhou]

Changing diet over the last decade has led to fatter Chinese girls. In the 1990's they were pretty much all thin - today not so much.

That said, I did get bored in the bank queue yesterday and spotted this. An English and a Chinese girl side by side. Don't spend all night trying to work out which is which!

[anonymoose]

From what I've read from various sources, the incidence of obesity is rising rapidly in China, and also Chinese migrants to western countries and their descendants have a higher body mass index on average. So I suspect that certainly diet does play a part. Also, and this is purely my own theory, much of chinese food contains bones or shells and things which are a lot of hassle to eat, so even if you spend a lot of time eating, the actually quantity of stuff swallowed is not very much.

[Scoobyqueen]

Liuzhou - Great picture and good observation. By the way, it is the absence of thongs that gives it a way. Can you buy thongs in China?

[renzhe]

Chinese girls always say it is because the diet in China is different etc but that does not fit the input output theory. They seem to eat copious amounts. It also seems that doing exercises (a proper workout, not just evening dance) in China is not particularly high on the agenda.

Dieting is much more complex than counting calories, unfortunately. Different nutrients are processed differently by our digestive system (which is logical, because they are chemically different compounds).

For example, in the west, we eat a lot of sugar. Sugar is something you can burn immediately, or it turns into fat. Much of the time, people eat things loaded with sugar, and then don't exercise it off, so it gets stored as fat.

Then there's a case of how much meat one eats (protein, important for muscle regeneration), which vitamins and minerals, how fatty is the food (deep fried vs. stir-fried), and so on. All of these, coupled with physical activity (or lack of) contribute the the body composition.

And I wouldn't say that people in China don't exercise. In the west, exercise is something you do in a fitness studio, and the rest of the time, the only physical activity many people engage in is walking to the car and out of the car, and fetching something out of the fridge. In China, many people ride bicycles to work, walk a lot, etc. At least in my experience.

[liuzhou]

Can you buy thongs in China?

Oh yes!

[bottledpoetry]

I think its all the rushing around to the subway or work on foot. When I come back to China, I lose pounds from just walking everywhere.

[adrianlondon]

There are many reasons. The main ones, I believe, being the following :

1. They don't drink as much alcohol with their meals. Usually it's just tea rather than a few beers and/or a bottle of wine.

2. They tend to eat dinner early.

3. They tend to eat just one course, quickly, rather than multiple courses until they're totaly stuffed and then continuing to sit down while they try to eat biscuits with their coffee or an after dinner liqueur.

4. Many eat soup first and drink lots of tea with their meal, so they feel bloated with liquid.

5. In the Winter they stay cold and burn off the food. In the Summer it's hot so they don't eat as much. Climate control (specifically aircon, especially in countries like Thailand) seems to lead to fatter, albeit more productive in the office, people.

6. Certainly in the North, they tend not to eat sugary food. They'll all have high blood pressure due to the salt/MSG, but they'll die thin ;)

I assume it's a combination of factors. And I know they're all generalisations, but then not every Chinese is thin.

[liuzhou]

2. They tend to eat dinner early.

Then go out later to eat "snacks" because they are hungry again.

[Outofin]

There is a book “The China Study” on diet, which might interest you. It has overwhelmingly positive feedbacks on Amazon. Meanwhile, there may be a factor of 它山之石可以攻玉 “foreign theories sell better”, because some Chinese foods such as 油条油饼 don’t look like healthy at all.

It seems obvious to me that some eat too much sweet foods. I have a strong resentment to donuts. My body tells me, “Don’t eat it.”

[Senzhi]

All nice theories, and in my opinion all true.

I can only talk from my experience: I do find that people here (in Shantou) eat a lot less than where I come from. In general, the food is limited to rice, some seafood, noodles, and the locally infamous Shantou beef balls.

In general, meat is served in very small portions, simply because it is considered as too expensive.

And to tell you the truth: I have lost a lot of weight here. I feel hungry 2 hours after every Chinese meal I have. Very hungry.

But then maybe I have a too good digestive system.

[csun213]

It is China. Most people who goes to China to work or vacation lose weight. I, personally lose about 10-12 whenever I am in China for 2 week vacation.

I do a lot of walking, sight seeing, not much snacking, TV and is just more active.

It has nothing to do with the Chinese body. Look at all the over-weight Chinese America here in the U.S. including myself.

[randall_flagg]

Why is the 50 kg mark so important?

My guess: Because of the saying 好女不过百 （A "good" girl should not weigh more than 100 pounds)

[crazy-meiguoren]

I think its all the rushing around to the subway or work on foot. When I come back to China, I lose pounds from just walking everywhere.

I'd like to see more of that here in the US. Unfortunately, everything in my hometown is so far apart that you'd be walking all day just to get to one or two places. Even more so for me, since I live in a semi-rural neighborhood.

A "good" girl should not weigh more than 100 pounds

An adult woman who weighs less than 100 pounds had better be quite short - no more than 5' 0" tall. Otherwise they would be described with words such as "anorexic" or "bulimic". Such a short person could barely see over the steering wheel.

[my3rdlang]

"My guess: Because of the saying 好女不过百 （A "good" girl should not weigh more than 100 pounds)"

Is it 100 chinese pounds (100斤)?

When I was fresh off the plane in China (from USA), I weighed 51-52kg. After a few months, my weight dropped to 49kg. I am currently 50kg. I better maintain my weight then!

Considering the the avg Chinese female is slightly shorter than me (I am 163cm), I think 50kg is a reasonable benchmark for a young woman of avg height.

If you look at height/weight or BMI charts, a 1.63cm female weighing 50kg has a BMI of 19- which is not considered slim... but is of ideal weight.

[BrandeX]

An adult woman who weighs less than 100 pounds had better be quite short - no more than 5' 0" tall. Otherwise they would be described with words such as "anorexic" or "bulimic". Such a short person could barely see over the steering wheel.

This is pretty ordinary here, and no one has (or thinks they have) this sort of disorder. Even my wife who is completely average compared to any other girl on the street was just under 99lbs and about 5' 3" before she became pregnant, and looked and was perfectly healthy.

[crazy-meiguoren]

I'd like to learn how. I'm afraid that if the Chinese adopt too much of the Western diet, that the answer to this question may become a thing of the past.

Edited December 4, 2008 at 08:51 AM by crazy-meiguoren

[bottledpoetry]

Sometimes it pays to have a little meat on the bones.

that...is...a...scary.....picture...

[cdn_in_bj]

I attribute it to the combination of the three:

Physiology - smaller frames are an advantage here. Sometimes you don't notice that the smaller girls have moderately higher body fat compared to the "big-boned" ones.

Diet/eating habits - Eating regular meals, less meat, more veggies, less sugars (at least the northern diet), rice vs. potatoes, etc. Of course, there are exceptions such as "5-flower meat" and this probably explains the fat 哥们儿's lounging about with their shirts off on a hot summer's day.

Exercise/lifestyle - regular daily walking/biking definitely helps, even if it's only for 30-60 minutes/day.

[flameproof]

A few facts from my observation:

1. China HAS a growing obesity Problem

2. People often appear slimmer because of lack of height

3. There is little healthy food awareness in China

4. 20 years ago 90% of the menu was 没有, now there's plenty

5. You see many overweight kids

6. Kids move way less then in the past, it's study time, not play time

That problem will definitely grow. in 10-15 years time there will be plenty of heart problems around. Not to different from the west. Different is maybe, we know what is bad for us, but still eat it.