China's BIG Problem: The Rise of Childhood Obesity | Chinese Obesity Epidemic Documentary

a Wednesday night in Beijing the Chinese capital in a downtown restaurant a particular show is starting a young woman is going to dine alone well not really she's filmed by a team of professionals and millions of people will watch her while she eats [Music] um [Music] yeah her name is Minnie she is 25 years old her work as a professional leader has made her a celebrity in the country this practice imported from South Korea is called mukbang the literal translation eating broadcast the principle is simple in order to attract the largest possible audience on the internet she must eat astronomical amounts of food in front of the camera foreign chocolate during a one-hour broadcast Minnie eats eight beef rice bowls five Eggs three ice creams and drinks about two liters of papaya juice it's a recipe for Success she has fans all over the country four million Chinese people watch her live 10 million in a replay Minnie earns 7 000 Euros a month her fans are often single young adults lonely and missing companionship this young woman regularly eats her meals alone with her online friend ships monk bang seems to be a popular cure for loneliness however it's also creating problems with obesity across the country especially among young people they're the primary consumers of these types of videos moreover it has become a trend on social networks teens who Gorge themselves on fast food in front of their webcam like mini in the heart of Beijing this production company specializes in mukbang videos here 17 people work full time on Minnie's broadcast and it's this woman guangdan who started it all [Music] sequences [Music] [Music] a live food orgy for young people although Minnie is surprisingly slim her diet would make anyone fat on this matter the producer refutes the problems [Music] according to her mukbang broadcasts are good for public health it's hard to believe this in a country where the fight against obesity has become a national issue the Chinese are eating more and more and getting fatter and fatter the most populous country in the world 1 billion 400 million people struck by famine in the past is now becoming obese 100 million of them are overweight the elderly practiced Tai Chi and follow a traditional diet the new generation has opted for junk food and a sedentary lifestyle [Music] young people are the most affected 20 percent of boys and 10 percent of girls are now obese the one child policy has led millions of families to engorge their only offspring foreign it's a public health problem obesity is brought with it diabetes and cardiovascular diseases the number one cause the boom of fast food sending calorie counts through the roof so the country has declared war against obesity everywhere fitness camps for obese youth are blooming it's a forced diet [Music] losing weight has become trendy the new stars of reality TV are former overweight people who have lost weight [Music] to cope with this phenomenon the Chinese are turning to traditional medicine or to much more radical surgical techniques [Music] others have turned the problem into a business one of the most downloaded smartphone apps in the country is a weight loss programs um on the other hand a fighting for overweight people to be more accepted [Music] from Beijing to Guangzhou from Shanghai to the Yunnan border we look deeply into a country that's doing everything to trim down a traditional restaurant in the heart of Shenzhen in southeast China du schwei 15 years old has been obese since he was six years his father enrolled him in a fitness camp for the obese youth he takes him to the restaurant one last time before the grueling weeks ahead [Music] has a fierce appetite his father seems more concerned with the happiness of his son than with his health his last moment of indulging for a long time [Music] the next morning dushway and his father make their way to the camp a teenager knows exactly what lies ahead this is the second time he has sacrificed his holidays for his diet [Music] children [Music] everybody his father paid 5 000 Euros to help his son lose weight a hefty sum even for this successful restaurateur [Music] s is immediately taken in by his trainers and it all starts with a health check before setting his goals the trainers must first determine his body fat percentage using this machine as state-of-the-art scale foreign but the smiles will not last very long it's all the trainers here are former soldiers uniforms matching upon their arrival these teens ranging from 12 to 16 years old are put to work two kilometers away at the stadium they'll hear the rules they will have to follow for the next two months remember common sense and good behavior something these young teens apparently lack [Music] s it's the first day and soon one of the students is taken a side he was caught laughing during the instructions punishment is immediate you go some detention [Music] hold on the tone is set this is just beginning the next day the students will find out the schedule they will have to follow during their stay here wake up at six in the morning make the bed like in the army three hours of sports before lunch [Music] another three hours in the afternoon and to Crown it all more discipline exercises [Music] the teens are constantly doing something they have no breaks each misstep is sanctioned by additional physical exercise [Music] oh my God after a week many are losing lots of weight but it's not easy to keep up foreign while the students are doing their critical assessment this is part of the compulsory exercises students have to write down not only their successes but their failures as well foreign according to the trainers who will read out the text again the next day only one week has passed du schwei suffers his first depressive episode foreign [Music] the most anticipated moment of the day finally comes it's 8 P.M teens are allowed a short moment on their cell phone they get only one hour a day but under certain conditions foreign at 12 years old little jahau is one of the youngest in the group like most of the participants he is an only child and waits all day for the moment when he can call his mother um [Music] foreign [Music] foreign if you want to draw with you missing his parents is perhaps one of the reasons for jihau's weight gain however at the camp the coaches aren't able to work on the root of the issue just the problem itself the only goal is to lose weight as quickly as possible he has a month left [Music] and yet China not so long ago looks more like this before industrialization in the rural Exodus low calorie and low-fat food were more widespread we are in Yunnan Province a rural area in the southwest with Landscapes and a type of Agriculture that have almost disappeared in China here there's a different Vision on gastronomy a return to the source some farmers and restauranteers are trying to preserve Chinese culinary Traditions it starts with the local farmers organic vegetables a rarity in China they're then shipped directly to the city's upscale restaurants the best chefs are snatching them up foreign foreign here it is the real Chinese cuisine this Chef is a purist for her the Chinese have forgotten the meaning behind what they eat she knows the benefits of each of her recipes [Music] um [Music] [Music] far from fatty and fried foods the chef Advocates a return to the old-fashioned diet [Music] but this is not the norm across China for almost 30 years the city landscape has changed fast food restaurants have moved in everywhere supermarkets are selling many products high in saturated fats and sugars the main problem however is the boundless supply of meat A once special ingredient has now become ordinary the typical eating plate revamped we have an appointment in Beijing with Mrs yang she is in charge of the national program aiming to improve the Chinese diet for her habits have radically changed due to the country's growth in wealth [Music] all education needs to be reviewed according to Mrs Yang but perhaps also the food standards followed by a nutritionist we visited decos the most popular Chinese fast food chain we film with a hidden camera in China unlike in France there is virtually no limit imposed on sugar fat salt or food coloring [Music] [Music] foreign but the nutritionist there's no doubt fast food restaurants like this one make China fatter the hamburgers are even more calorie dense than their American counterparts [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] from Burger buns loaded with color additives [Music] to Fried Chicken full of sauce it's a nutritionist's nightmare but instead of tackling the causes of obesity the China is fighting instead against those who have already grown fat [Music] it is an obsession throughout the country in some cases losing weight can even make you rich and famous television has capitalized on the subject on the air countless reality TV shows revolve around the same principle the winner is the one who loses the most kilos The Biggest Loser is the most famous show the first season three years ago had a young man weighing 147 kilos three years later we meet up with him at his apartment in Beijing he is unrecognizable 25 years old lost 50 kilos in a hundred days it's a diet that can be dangerous physically and psychologically but thanks to it he won the game this is a case study like many Chinese Jew jazze started gaining weight since his childhood after his parents divorce he was raised by his grandfather who gave him everything the child became obese at the age of six years old his life changed after he won The Biggest Loser he not only slimmed down but he also became famous on TV he's seen as a role model for weight loss [Music] [Music] he was hired by the production company of the show to keep him fit his bosses pay for a personal coach who makes him sweat up to four hours a day magazine covers appearances advertisements for clothing brands his face is everywhere several times a month he shares his experience as a former obese person he always tells the same story the Redemption of an overweight man after losing weight this is what inspires his audience [Music] has become a role model for millions of Chinese people even those who don't have a weight problem want to model themselves after him foreign is constantly in demand he finally has friends several times a week he will meet them on the University campus to play his favorite sport under the Gaze of his admirers his fan club a year ago these young women were obese too results [Music] the two young women claimed to have lost more than 20 kilos in a few months they only have eyes for their Idol s [Laughter] the new Chinese role model a young man who has lost weight however the dangers of this brutal diet are going unmentioned as is the root of the Obesity issue fast pace of the city life in China in the streets of Beijing the capital we come across more and more people suffering from obesity young often single with stressful jobs [Music] Jean Q is 28 years old she weighs 147 kilos and has been obese since her early years but recently her condition has gone out of control shallow when teachers to get to her home she must go up five flights of stairs it's a nightmare Zhang Q works at night during the day she almost never leaves her apartment the young woman spends most of her time playing video games on her smartphones foreign does not practice any sport but she's decided to take matters into her own hands she goes to a clinic specializing in obesity treatment a clinic that practices traditional medicine more and more overweight Chinese people are turning to these methods [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] the diagnosis is final the young woman suffers from morbid obesity she risks diabetes and even liver cancer she is at risk of dying and to deal with this the doctor offers a remedy that seems rather mild [Music] uh the method may be surprising in China it has been practiced for 5 000 years for acupuncture to be effective the needles must reach specific points under the skin in the case of obese patients they must first go through a thick layer of fat these needles are 15 centimeters long [Music] foreign after the needles cupping it's another traditional Chinese technique commonly used as a treatment for obesity [Music] [Music] [Applause] this grandmother's remedy is also supposed to regulate the flow of energy in the body and promote blood circulation seven minutes later the suction cups are removed one by one according to doctors regular sessions will eventually allow her to lose weight although many Chinese believe in the effectiveness of these methods more and more people are turning to more modern and radical techniques [Music] in Guangzhou there's a hospital that specializes in treating obesity but without needles or suction cups the results are incredible they are displayed in the lobby with his shy demeanor this 46 year old surgeon is a star in his field courted by millions of patients he is the New Hope of the obese Chinese at least for those who have the means his operation costs 10 000 Euros [Music] thank you [Music] hello his secret a technique he himself calls The Last Resort operation [Music] thank you um [Music] [Music] in recent years the number of applications has exploded the doctor operates an average of three patients per day today the patient is 120 kilo student who wants to lose 60. it's a serious operation but it will hardly leave any scar on the patient's body everything goes through the navel [Music] change a technique practiced all over the world but for it to be effective the surgeon recommends a change of diet after the operation but it's often not the case here patients are at risk of regaining their weight and also serious psychological problems [Music] back to Shenzhen under the monsoon rains at the rehabilitation camp for overweight teenagers like every morning trainees are called in one by one for weighing when he arrived eight days ago dushoy weighed 94 kilos [Music] in addition to a lot of sports the trainees need to learn how to eat healthy [Music] this is one of the objectives of the camp the meals are carefully planned what was previously the best time of day for them is now an ordeal s the food served in the canteen doesn't make the cut um [Music] foreign not enough food depression and still six hours of sports a day [Applause] the camp enters its second phase the activities are more intense only three weeks left to shed the kilos the trainers push the teens to the end [Applause] the goal is to tap into their fat Reserves duchoi resists somehow [Applause] [Music] he still has three weeks left to suffer duchoi is not sure if he can hold on if he wants to achieve his goal he will have to lose nearly a kilo a day until the end of the camp [Music] obesity is not a problem exclusive to young people in China the government has launched a plan to reduce the average weight of the population by 2030. state-of-the-art gyms have sprung up everywhere at least forty thousand in the country and there's gyms opening every day a business that can generate billions Suzanne is 36 years old she's entrusted her Fitness to her smartphone it follows her everywhere even at breakfast it's her Fitness coach the orange bars are how much you eat and the green bars are how much you exercise and this is the assigned quarter of the 1374 calories I should be eating daily but if we put the green on top of it meaning that I could eat a little bit more like 70 million Chinese Suzanne uses boa one of the biggest internet successes in the country it's an application to lose weight this morning she's allowed to eat peanut butter it works well Boaz planned everything she has to do an hour of yoga with her virtual coach happy she have another peanut butter to meet the creator of this application we need to travel to Shanghai to stick to the image of his business Mr ma arrives in track pants and sneakers to the office he owes his immense Fortune to his former girlfriend since then Mr Ma has changed his career path for the moment his American style startup has 80 employees but he does not intend to stop there [Music] the fatter China gets the more Mr Mar blooms the businessman even set up a film studio in his office he's hired Miss Yi Wen the most famous nutritionist in the country we had already met her at a fast food restaurant she is a specialist in junk food The Secret of her success do not blame the client foreign [Music] but 1500 kilometers away in Guangzhou a woman has decided to earn the whole issue on its head why do we have to slim down a tour cost instead of accepting it a new trend has recently emerged plus size models a phenomenon that has questioned the normalized standard of beauty woman at 30 years old Huang FEI has just set up her modeling agency an agency specializing in models with bigger sizes the businesswoman is always looking for new faces for advertisements fashion shows or online Commerce although the profession is very new she receives a hundred applications every month a big challenge for these young women obese people are often discriminated against and find it harder to find a job compared to others the agency is helping to change that the girls get on the scale and get their measurements taken even if the models are curvy enough the criteria are strict and they're all new to the industry [Music] special you're looking for yeah actually I don't want the boobs so big because for the normal model or the precise also if the Boost too big you look fat yeah for normal modeling 168 and you can see she have the really particular Chinese face I love this face yeah good after the measurements the photo shoot [Music] idea okay showcasing the beauty of these out of the ordinary girls is more than just a business Huang FEI is fighting for curvy people to be better accepted in society modeling has become a militant Act s no no no no no money money um the agency has just celebrated its one year anniversary and contracts have already been signed in China and abroad fully confident this new wave of models are proud about their curves even if they do not always go unnoticed on the street it will undoubtedly take time to change the views of a billion and 400 million Chinese the star of reality TV continues to ride on his success he has a new show in the works always on the same topic how to look good and slim down when you're overweight zhongq has finished her acupuncture sessions without success she even gained three kilos and is discouraged she's given up on the idea of losing weight finally dushwai sent us this video of him at the end of his camp coaches filmed him he looks exhausted but he has lost 16 kilos [Music] he only hopes to keep the weight off and not gain it back like last year and run the risk of spending his next holiday at the camp again according to studies if the country continues at the same rate 48 million young Chinese people will be obese by 2025.

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Id: 6nmNbDmUmYM

Length: 51min 1sec (3061 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 11 2023