Twenty-Five-Year Trends in Dietary Patterns among Chinese Adults from 1991 to 2015

Abstract

Poor dietary habits have been shown to be associated with a range of chronic diseases and can potentially be a major contributor to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) mortality. We therefore aimed to identify the prevailing dietary patterns among Chinese adults and to evaluate trends in dietary patterns from 1991 to 2015. We used data collected in the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). Dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis of data from three consecutive 24 h dietary recalls. We studied 29,238 adults aged 18 and above with complete demo-graphic and dietary data. Three distinct dietary patterns were identified: southern (high intakes of rice, vegetables, and pork), modern (high intakes of fruits, dairy products, cakes, cookies, and pastries), and meat (high intakes of organ meats, poultry, and other livestock meat). The southern pattern score decreased (mean ± SD scores in 1991: 0.11 ± 1.13; scores in 2015: −0.22 ± 0.93). The modern pattern score (mean ± SD scores in 1991: −0.44 ± 0.59; scores in 2015: 0.21 ± 1.01) and meat pattern score (mean ± SD scores in 1991: −0.18 ± 0.98; scores in 2015: 0.27 ± 0.91) increased. We observed that China has experienced a shift from traditional dietary patterns to western dietary patterns.

Trajectories of Dietary Patterns and Their Associations with Overweight/Obesity among Chinese Adults: China Health and Nutrition Survey 1991–2018

“…China is facing a Westernization of dietary patterns in a nutrition transition [ 16 ]. Individuals may have a similar change in dietary pattern over time, but they could have begun at a different level and changed at a different pace.…”

“…The southern pattern represents a traditional dietary habit in southern China, where people are more likely to eat rice as a staple food with dishes [ 16 ]. Other studies also have reported the association between similar dietary patterns with overweight/obesity in the Chinese population [ 9 , 10 , 14 ].…”

“…We used the average intake (g/day) as the input value in the analysis. More details on the methods can be found elsewhere [ 16 ].…”

“…China is in a nutrition transition, with a Westernization of dietary patterns over recent decades [ 16 ]. It is essential to understand the health outcomes of different dietary pattern trajectories over time.…”

Food Delivery Platform: A Potential Tool for Monitoring the Food Environment and Mitigating Overweight/Obesity in China

“…The dietary pattern in China was relatively healthy in 2010 compared with that of other countries ( 40 ). However, China has since then quickly transformed toward unhealthy diets ( 40 ) under the increasing adoption of western dietary patterns ( 41 ). Such shifts are also related to changes in the food environment ( 11 ).…”