China seems to be rather self-conscious about how widespread obesity affects its national image. However else the country may be viewed, it does not like to be seen as flabby. (Who does?)
To appreciate this paper about why children are obese, we need to grasp what is meant by two terms. A necessary condition is one that is needed for something to happen, but may not, in itself, be enough to make it happen. In other words, “[T]he outcome can never happen without the cause. However, sometimes the cause occurs without the outcome.”
On the other hand, a sufficient condition is enough to bring about the result, but may not be required in order for the thing to happen (because some other sufficient condition may be at work):
[I]f something is a sufficient cause, then every time it happens the outcome will follow. The outcome always follows the cause. However, the outcome may occur without the cause.
Now, one more definition. Histomorphology has to do with the form or structure of an organism (morphology) while “histo” refers to tissue. What this very recent study set out to investigate is “the histomorphic configuration pathways of several conditions of adolescent overweight and obesity by gender.” It was determined that for adolescent obesity to occur, there are nine sufficient conditions, but no single necessary condition.
Conditions: none necessary, nine sufficient
The 14-year-old subjects (137 girls, 167 boys) were studied via a social survey that covered “individual, behavioral, learning and living environment.” The results according to sex were “similar but not identical”:
We found that there is no determining necessary condition that, once present, directly determines that an individual is in a state of overweight and obesity. Simultaneously, this study revealed nine alternative configurational paths of overweight and obesity.
Focus was on the interactions between various conditions, and the expectation is that the research “will be useful to policymakers in that interventions should take into account the combined effects of a number of different aspects rather than focusing on a single factor that causes overweight and obesity.”
In other words, it would help if a person were to avoid (or a country were to ban), for example, every type and form of hyper-processed food — but that alone would not be enough. If everyone were required to do an hour of vigorous exercise per day, it would help, but would not in itself solve the problem.
Shunning and worse
Another Chinese study, this one from 2022, was interested in both obesity and the underweight condition caused by malnutrition, and in the influences that may be exerted on children by both schools and society as a whole. In the particular province where the research was done, underweight was higher than the national average, while overweight was lower. Static (sedentary) behavior was found to be a deleterious factor, more so in boys than in girls.
Part of the problem is rapid urbanization, because rural occupations like farming and logging tend to keep the weight off. The typical diet has “shifted towards more animal-based foods, refined grains, and highly processed foods” and the increase in restaurant dining tends to involve more calories.
The government’s efforts to limit families to one child have led to more spoiling and overindulgence, which means high-calorie treats. Just like American kids, Chinese youth spend too much sedentary time with their electronic devices and not nearly enough time on exercise. Also like ours, their obesity rate increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their government is trying hard to develop projects and programs to reverse the trend.
Many factors have contributed to the alarming rise of childhood obesity in China. The country contains an estimated 39 million obese children, a figure expected to reach 58 million before the end of this decade. They suffer from metabolic syndrome at a much higher rate than equally obese children in other countries.
In a society where a very high value is placed on fitting in, millions of kids are likely to be stigmatized by their peers. As they grow older, they are more apt to develop such personality traits as aversion, dissatisfaction, poor social adjustment, and non-conformity, all of which are definite drawbacks in a society so focused on orthodoxy and compliance.
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
Source: “Understanding Necessary and Sufficient Causes in Science and Medicine,” VeryWellHealth.com, 08/15/22
Source: “A study on the configuration of factors influencing overweight and obesity in adolescents based on fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis,” NIH.gov, 06/30/24
Source: “Compared with dietary behavior and physical activity risk, sedentary behavior risk is an important factor in overweight and obesity: evidence from a study of children and adolescents aged 13-18 years in Xinjiang, China,” NIH.gov, 10/07/22
Source: “Overweight and obesity: The serious challenge faced by Chinese children and adolescents,” NIH.gov, 07/21/23
Image by Kandukuru Nagarjun/Attribution 2.0 Generic
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