However, there is still a lack of preventive actions to help prevent overweight and obesity, and Professor Chen, a renowned human nutrition scientist, has urged tripartite efforts from government agencies, scientists and the industry in promoting weight management efforts in China.
Weight management became a key focus area when the Chinese government launched a three-year-long campaign to tackle obesity in 2024, with 16 national agencies on board. Weight management was again highlighted as a national priority during the annual high-level ‘Two Sessions’ government meeting last year.
Speaking to NutraIngredients at a press conference during the Bo’ao Food for Health Science Conference and Expo 2026 (FHE 2026) last week, Professor Chen talked about the key achievements that he believes the campaign has yielded so far and what more could be done. The annual event takes place in China’s southern city of Hainan and Professor Chen also gave a presentation on obesity prevention and weight management during the event.
The biggest achievement of the campaign at this point, according to Professor Chen’s view, is how weight management was much more discussed and more deeply entrenched among the general population.
“More people understand that body weight should be managed and that everyone should be responsible for their own weight. There is a never-before-seen media attention on weight management and the narrative has shifted from simply weight loss to weight management,” he told NI. “The public now has a deeper and more accurate understanding of weight management and I feel that this is one of the main results coming from the campaign.”
However, he is of the view that measures to prevent overweight and obesity are still lacking.
One of the most visible efforts is coming from the hospitals, he said, where hospitals have formed obesity or weight management clinics.
“The main action that I am seeing is that many hospitals, especially the bigger hospitals, have set up obesity clinics, or what we call weight management clinics, where they pluck up doctors from relevant disciplines to form the clinics,” he said. “This could be viewed as a form of result, but our main goal is to have every individual learn how to manage their own weight before they become overweight or obese. People who visit such clinics are of a smaller percentage or are already facing serious weight problems.”
Citing findings published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in 2023 that 34.8% of Chinese suffered from overweight and 14.1% were obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is also higher in men at 41.1% and 27.7% in women.
Tripartite efforts and what can companies do
Besides individuals, Professor Chen urged that different parties, including government agencies, scientists, and the food industry should work together in promoting weight management.
At the government level, policy papers should be developed to guide concrete actions and measures, while scientists should propose evidence-based interventions to help individuals manage their weight.
At the industry front, he said that companies have the mission to develop products that come with low calories but are filling at the same time.
“Companies should also provide the right products, those which are low in calories but can fill the stomach and this is a mission for the food industry,” he said.
There is also a need for sustainable messaging and preventive actions, added Professor Chen, so as to ensure that weight loss is sustainable in the long run.
“There are too many instances whereby scientists show how a three-month intervention could reduce body weight and share their findings in journals but in the meantime, the participants have actually regained their weight once they come off the intervention,” he said, urging for sustainable measures.
Elderly friendly food lacking
On the other hand, Professor Chen also highlighted a lack of elderly-friendly food products in China and how it pales in comparison with the sector in Japan.
Elderly-friendly food, he explained, is food that provides the nutrition needed while addressing the decline in the elderly’s digestive function at the same time.
“These are products for the elderly who are experiencing a decline in digestive function as they age, maybe they are experiencing dysphagia and have difficulties chewing and swallowing their food, or issues digesting and absorbing nutrients,” he said. “It is known that the elderly have a smaller meal portion and declining digestive function, but they also need more protein, 20% more than middle-aged adults. This is an issue that should be addressed – how can the elderly meet higher protein requirements when they have reduced appetite and food intake?”
Based on a survey conducted by Euromonitor, it was found that only about 180 products in China meet the criteria for elderly-friendly food and more than half of these products are milk powder, said Prof Chen.
“This is why I’ll say that China’s elderly-friendly foods sector is still in its infancy. If we were to look at our neighbor Japan, there is a wide array of elderly-friendly products that come in different dosage formats, flavors and nutritional content,” he said.
In this case, he and a group of industry experts and nutritionists have developed a consensus to define and standardize the production of elderly-friendly foods.
The consensus will be published this year and he hopes that this will help guide the R&D and commercialization of elderly-friendly foods in China.
