Chinese Diet Ranks First Worldwide in Diet-Related Disease and Death

In July this year, The Lancet published a survey on disease and death caused by national dietary structures around the world. The report shows that, among the 195 countries surveyed, China has the highest proportion of disease and death attributable to the Chinese diet.

This result was a great surprise. We habitually assumed the American diet was unhealthier than the Chinese, but the opposite is true. Our close neighbors Japan and South Korea have far fewer deaths and diseases attributable to their diets, ranking among the lowest in the world.

The reason Chinese food is so unhealthy is not that we do not eat green food—indeed, according to global surveys, whether food is organic has little effect on human health.

The root causes of Chinese diet-induced illness and death are that we eat too salty and too hot, and Chinese people eat too little fruit and whole grains. Statistical tables of diet-related deaths show the three most harmful factors to health are: high-salt diet, low whole-grain intake, and low fruit intake.

According to The Lancet's statistics, in 2017 alone, 3 million people died from high-sodium diets, another 3 million from eating too few whole grains, and 2 million from insufficient fruit; nearly 20% of deaths worldwide are attributable to dietary problems.

In China this proportion is even higher. Moreover, because Chinese people habitually "eat while hot," most have for long eaten food that is too hot, so the rates of gastric and esophageal cancer among Chinese also lead the world.

Diet-related diseases mainly include cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, malignant tumors, and type 2 diabetes. In addition, the cooking fumes produced in preparing Chinese food also cause many Chinese housewives to develop lung cancer.

Salt is everywhere in the Chinese diet, and Chinese tastes are generally too strong. Our pickled foods, traditional foods such as dried noodles, and common Chinese seasonings like soy sauce and various sauces are all high in salt. In the Chinese diet, whole grains and fruit also occupy too small a share.

This result will surprise the vast majority of Chinese: it turns out the Western fast food we have always considered unhealthy is actually healthier than the Chinese food we consider healthy.

A healthy body comes from scientific health management, and diet is an important determinant of health. We should reflect on our food culture and improve eating habits passed down over thousands of years.