China’s Dangerous Fast-Food Boom

KFC and Pizza Hut’s parent company, Yum Brands, recently announced plans to open 600 restaurants in China this year. Dairy Queen aims to add more than 100 locations. McDonald’s expects to open a restaurant a day in China for the next three to four years. That adds up to a lot of greasy chicken and pizza, high-fat burgers, and cholesterol-laden ice cream.

This fast-food deluge is swamping traditional plant-based Chinese diets—with devastating results. Close to 39 percent of the Chinese population is now overweight or obese, according to the World Health Organization. Type 2 diabetes now affects close to 10 percent of Chinese residents.

But we have a healthful remedy. On March 5, PCRM is introducing our 21-Day Healthy Challenge to Chinese-speaking people in China, Taiwan, and around the world.

Our free online Healthy Challenge program—based on our 21-Day Vegan Kickstart—can help people in China and around the world jumpstart weight-loss and reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems.

My colleague T. Collin Campbell, Ph.D., author of The China Study and Healthy Challenge coach, found through his research that traditional plant-based diets have provided some areas of China with protection from these diseases.

PCRM’s National Institutes of Health-funded clinical research shows that low-fat, plant-based diets can help people lose weight, reverse diabetes, and implement long-term changes in eating habits and health. And the best way to do this is to try a low-fat, plant-based diet for three weeks. The Healthy Challenge—offered in Mandarin—is a researched-based, fun, interactive way to do it.

Celebrity coaches, including actress Gao Yuanyuan, musician Louis Cheung, singer-songwriter Khalil Fong, and actress and singer Barbie Hsu, will join long-time PCRM friend Maggie Q in leading our Healthy Challenge. Participants will have free access to three weeks of meat- and dairy-free recipes for traditional Chinese favorites, such as vegan spring rolls, brown rice sushi, and ma po tofu. There’s also nutrition and cooking demonstration videos, a community forum, and an interactive restaurant guide.