The Physicians Committee Recognized as Top 10 Health Influencer in China

BEIJING—The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has been recognized as one of China’s top 10 health influencers for 2018. The award was presented by the Chinese social media platform Weibo during the “2018 V Influence Summit,” which was held in Beijing from Dec. 21-23, 2018. 

The Physicians Committee offers various programs throughout China to spread the message of plant-based diets for disease prevention, including lecture tours at medical schools, hospitals, businesses, and other venues. This July, the Physicians Committee lectured to more than 19,000 people in 15 cities. 

The Physicians Committee also offers a free Mandarin-language 21-Day Vegan Kickstart program and mobile app. The Kickstart program helps people transition to a plant-based diet with daily recipes, cooking videos, a ready-made shopping list, and nutrition information. The Chinese Kickstart program also has a presence on Weibo, which allows Physicians Committee staff to connect with people throughout China to share health news, infographics, nutrition fact sheets, recipes, tips, and more.

In 2018, Physicians Committee program specialist Jia Xu, Ph.D., traveled through China to spread the power of plant-based diets for good health. 

“With rising meat consumption in China—and rising rates of diet-related diseases—it’s a more important message now than ever,” says Dr. Xu.

People in China are now eating seven times more meat per person, on average, than they were three decades ago. As a country, China now consumes 28 percent of the world’s total meat. According to the World Health Organization, about 80 percent of deaths in China are now attributed to chronic diseases of lifestyle.