Is China Getting Fitter or Fatter?

A recent New York Times article suggests that China is on the precipice of a revolution. Apparently, the Chinese are now ready to take to the streets and exercise their rights for fancy fitness centers and swanky gyms. Is this fitness revolution really happening, and even if the parts are there, is that really making China fitter?

The article suggests that the sign of China's impending cultural uprising in fitness is seen in the numerous "gyms, clubs and gear shops that are growing in number." But in this narrow focus, the issue ignores the closure of these gyms that upsets Beijingers' workouts on a regular basis and the measurable rise in middle-class obesity – where rates have skyrocketed in recent years to over 20 percent in various cities and has become a global news story within the past year.

This sharp rise in obesity is the flip side of why fitness is, supposedly, growing in China. Both are based on, and fueled by, an increase in Western products (fast food) and lifestyles (middle-class gym membership). If this is the case, the Chinese middle class would be better off dropping the fast food and the gym, neither of which has had any improvement on Western obesity rates.

While the younger Chinese hold onto the illusion of fitness via the gym, the older generation seem to know how to actually do it. Take a weekend stroll through Beijing’s parks will and you’ll find aging Chinese working out on dated equipment in displays of strength and flexibility that would put people more than half their age to shame.

Photos: Flicker user *moritz.homann