A recent Ohio State University study shows Americans consume, on average, a meal’s worth of snacks every day, amounting to between 400 and 500 calories with little to no nutritional value. Snacking alone accounts for one-third of Americans’ recommended sugar intake and a quarter of people’s calories for the day.
One of America’s earliest TV cooking stars was Julia Child, who wrote a book with the self-explanatory title People Who Love to Eat Are Always the Best People: And Other Wisdom. Child also liked to quote Oscar Wilde’s “Everything in moderation — including moderation,” quip. Child’s enthusiasm was not meant to promote excess eating, though this pattern of behavior radiates through much of the United States.
America’s “land of plenty” moniker has never been in doubt. By many accounts, the average American now consumes close to 3,700 calories per day; more than 1,000 calories above women’s suggested maximum intake and 700 higher than the USDA’s upper-level recommendations for men.
These eating norms created a health crisis. But not just in the United States. Now the rest of the world has changed their eating habits to match. It’s particularly, dangerously, affecting Asia.
Land of Plenty
Research group Our World in Data tracks and collates data on the world’s food intake. They show a definite increase worldwide since 1961.
For one, all of the continents have widened their nutritional supply since 1961, driven by technological improvements in farming, food production, and supply distribution. Over that sixty plus years, every continent has shown an increase in the amount of food they’re able to supply.
North America, Europe, and Asia lead the way in food production. Unfortunately, Oceania has plateaued, and Africa has shown meager increases. In other words, Western and Asian food production has increased at a faster rate than other regions.
Tracking shows that in most cases, per capita food supply tends to increase with economic growth.
China’s Human Success Story
A remarkable story comes from China, which was one of the least-fed nations in Asia when they began keeping records — even below North Korea’s daily calorie consumption. Since 1961, China has experienced rampant economic growth. This pattern is reflected in individuals consuming an average 3,200 calories per day in 2018. Meanwhile, North Korea’s level stayed roughly the same; the reasons for this are clearly economic.
China’s monetary growth over the past century is well documented, leading to nutritional shifts in dining habits across most demographics, though the correlation between disposable money and calorific intake is hard to ignore. One metric for the effects of diet is height, both on a national and regional level. A 2022 study conducted by Chinese experts found the nation’s average national height for people born after 1990 had increased by over four inches since 1920.
Furthermore, average height differs between wealthier and developing zones. Rich cities like Tianjin, Shanghai, and Beijing have average male heights spanning 67 to 68 inches; at the same time, poorer Chinese regions like Tibet, Yunnan, and Chongqing share a range of 63 to 65 inches, respectively. Naturally, living in larger, more tech-aligned cities affords upwardly mobile Chinese better access to varied food groups and more exposure to international cuisine.
However, the detriment to China’s health levels is evident in many ways; like many other fast-growing economies, China’s nutritional success story has come with a side order of junk food. A Nature report on China’s expanding eating habits exposes how the modern urban Chinese diet leads the country toward health risks such as childhood obesity and coronary diseases. Between 2012 and 2013, Chinese cities saw a 30% rise in heart-related deaths alone — rural communities experienced a spike five years beforehand.
China’s Biomedical and Environmental Science ( BES ) committee found that urban centers overtook rural areas with heart disease mortality levels in 2015, though both groups have experienced a large upsurge overall. The East Asian powerhouse’s heart disease spike took place during a period of financial growth unseen in Chinese history — the average Chinese city dweller’s income went up eightfold between 2000 and 2020.
A Healthier Outlook in the West
The Western world is changing its outlook: in 2023, the World Economic Forum (WEF) published a report in collaboration with Statista showing half of Americans now aim to eat healthy. There is a caveat. A similar number also argues that the necessary ingredients are too expensive. In contrast to China, America’s middle class may be in decline, though America’s financial hierarchy still dictates generational health.
Like China, those in upper-wealth echelons have better access to expensive or organic ingredients than others in less-privileged ones. Higher educated classes in America often choose to lose the calories, embarking on fashionable diets or fitness-based fads. Intermittent fasting or low-carb, high-protein diets are popular. It is also more common for America’s affluent classes to have gym memberships, personal trainers, or even nutritionists.
Furthermore, there is an urban vs. rural parallel in the United States with eating norms. The latest CDC adult obesity map of America gives insight into this relationship. The three most obese states are Oklahoma, Louisiana, and West Virginia. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the states are at the lower end of America’s per capita income range.
Nevertheless, while some might say America is exporting its fast-food culture across the world, bringing with it negative health consequences, others would counter that recently developed, industrialized countries like China are merely enjoying their newfound wealth.
This article was produced by Media Decision and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
