Structural change in the impact of income on food consumption in China, 1989-1993

Change has not always been steady in China, and evidence of increased poverty among some subpopulation groups exists. For example, among the rural poor in some areas there has been an increase in chronic energy deficiency, while, particularly among higher-income groups, the incidences of high-fat diets and obesity have increased rapidly. There has been a marked shift not only in obesity but also in other diet-related chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancers. These are rapidly becoming major health problems in the higher-income population. In this article we first present the overall picture with a cross-country analysis of changes in the dietary structure, and we explore the income-fat and diet-obesity relationships. Then we present data from China that demonstrate the trend in the dietary structure. This is followed by a more rigorous examination and testing of the income-food consumption relationship. The behavioral changes that we uncover in the income-food relationship have important implications for the formulation of future nutrition policies in China. We explore some of these implications in the concluding section.