Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Perspective
  • Published:

How we eat determines what we become: opportunities and challenges brought by food delivery industry in a changing world in China

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 72, pages 1282–1286 (2018)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Rapid economic growth and urbanization have brought notable changes in China. This trend had dramatic impacts to food industry and diet-related behaviors, which leads to increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity as well as diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). With a rapid development of internet and e-commerce market, another emerging trend that should not be overlooked is the change in food shopping habits induced by the popularity of online-to-offline (O2O) food delivery service in China. The O2O food market is a booming industry in China, the market scale of O2O food industry is increasing with remarkable speed. More than 1/5 of total population in China has already became the users of O2O food delivery market. Development of this new trend in food environment is inevitable. This game-changing trend brings great opportunities to improve food accessibility and availability but meanwhile poses inevitable challenges to the whole public health system and social environment in China. This paper offers a unique perspective of the opportunities and challenges that the new industry brings to food environment, health outcomes caused by related behavior change, and its broader influence on social environment.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Zhou Y, Du S, Su C, Zhang B, Wang H, Popkin BM. The food retail revolution in China and its association with diet and health. Food Policy. 2015;55:92–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2017. 2017 China Statistical Year Book. Available from: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2017/indexch.htm

  3. National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2018. Statistical Communiqué of China on 2017 National Economic and Social Development. Available from: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/zxfb/201802/t20180228_1585631.html

  4. Chan KW. Fundamentals of China’s urbanization and policy. China Rev. 2010;10:63–93.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Zhai FY, Du SF, Wang ZH, Zhang JG, Du WW, Popkin BM. Dynamics of the Chinese diet and the role of urbanicity, 1991–2011. Obes Rev. 2014;15:16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Wang Y, Wang L, Xue H, Qu W. A review of the growth of the fast food industry in china and its potential impact on obesity. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016;13:1112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. The World Health Organization, 2017. Prevalence of obesity among adults, BMI ≥ 30, crude estimates by country. Available from: http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.BMI30C?lang=en

  8. Ma RC, Xu L, Jia W. Causes of type 2 diabetes in China. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2014;2:980–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Yang G, Wang Y, Zeng Y, Gao GF, Liang X, Zhou M, et al. Rapid health transition in china, 1990-2010: findings from the global burden of disease study 2010. Lancet. 2013;381:1987–2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. China E-Commerce Research Center (CECRC), 2017. 2017 China e-commerce market data monitoring report. Available from: http://www.100ec.cn/zt/17jcbg1/

  11. IiMedia Research Group, 2017. 2016-2017 China Online Take-out Market Research Report. Available from: http://www.iimedia.cn/49626.html

  12. China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), 2016. 37th Statistical report on the development of China Internet network. Available from: http://www.cnnic.cn/gywm/xwzx/rdxw/2016/201601/W020160122639198410766.pdf

  13. China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), 2018. 41th Statistical report on the development of China Internet network. Available from: http://www.cac.gov.cn/2018-01/31/c_1122347026.htm

  14. Cannuscio CC, Tappe K, Hillier A, Buttenheim A, Karpyn A, Glanz K. Urban food environments and residents’ shopping behaviors. Am J Prev Med. 2013;45:606–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Kamphuis CB, Giskes K, Bruijn GJ, Wendel-Vos W, Brug J, van, Lenthe FJ. Environmental determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among adults: asystematic review. Br J Nutr. 2006;96:620–35.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Jennings A, Welch A, Jones AP, Harrison F, Bentham G, van Sluijs EM, et al. Local food outlets, weight status, and dietary intake: associations in children aged 9-10 years. Am J Prev Med. 2011;40:405–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Gamba RJ, Schuchter J, Rutt C, Seto EY. Measuring the food environment and its effects on obesity in the United States: a systematic review of methods and results. J Community Health. 2015;40:464–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Story M, Kaphingst KM, Robinson-O’Brien R, Glanz K. Creating healthy food and eating environments: policy and environmental approaches. Annu Rev Public Health. 2008;29:253–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Smith G, Gidlow C, Davey R, Foster C. What is my walking neighborhood? A pilot study of English adults’ definitions of their local walking neighbourhoods. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2010;7:34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Green SH, Glanz K. Development of the perceived nutrition environment measures survey. Am J Prev Med. 2015;49:50–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Gould LH, Rosenblum I, Nicholas D, Phan Q, Jones TF. Contributing factors in restaurant-associated foodborne disease outbreaks, FoodNet site, 2006 and 2007. J Food Prot. 2013;76:1824–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Nyachuba DG. Foodborne illness: is it on the rise? Nutr Rev. 2010;68:257–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Cunningham A. Toxic leftovers. Sci News. 2006;169:389–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Varshavsky JR, Morello-Frosch R, Woodruff TJ, Zota AR. Dietary sources of cumulative phthalates exposure among the U.S. general population in NHANES 2005-2014. Environ Int. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint. e-pub ahead of print February 29

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Garciaarias MT, Alvarez PE, Garcialinares MC, Garciafernandez MC, Sanchezmuniz FJ. Cooking–freezing–reheating (cfr) of sardine (sardinapilchardus) fillets. Effect of different cooking and reheating procedures on the proximate and fatty acid compositions. Food Chem. 2003;83:349–56.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. First financial business data center (CBNData), 2017. 2016 Online food delivery consumption report. Available from: http://cbndata.com/report/91?isReading=report&page=1&readway=stand

  27. Healy GN, Wijndaele K, Dunstan DW, Shaw JE, Salmon J, Zimmet PZ, et al. Objectively measured sedentary time, physical activity, and metabolic risk: the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab). Diabetes Care. 2008;31:369–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. First financial business data center (CBNData), 2018. 2018 Living consumption trends report. Available from: http://cbndata.com/report/559/detail?isReading=report&page=1

  29. Rothon C, Goodwin L, Stansfeld S. Family social support, community “social capital” and adolescents’ mental health and educational outcomes: a longitudinal study in England. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2012;47:697–709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Koelmel E, Hughes AJ, Alschuler KN, Ehde DM. Resilience mediates the longitudinal relationships between social support and mental health outcomes in multiple sclerosis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2017;98:1139–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Paredes AZ, Persaud E, Shelnutt AKP. Raising healthy children: the importance of family meals. Plant Physiol. 2014;129:1695–9.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Jalil A, Nannu M, Rahman MK. Using plastic bags and its damaging impact on environment and agriculture: an alternative proposal. Int J Learning Dev. 2013;3:1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Verma R, Vinoda KS, Papireddy M, Gowda ANS. Toxic pollutants from plastic waste- a review. Procedia Environ Sci. 2016;35:701–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Morét-Ferguson S, Law KL, Proskurowski G, Murphy EK, Peacock EE, Reddy CM. The size, mass, and composition of plastic debris in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Mar Pollut Bull. 2010;60:1873–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), 2004. Dangerous health effects of home burning of plastic and wastes, fact sheet. Available from: http://www.wecf.eu/cms/download/2004-2005/homeburning_plastics.pdf

  36. Kogevinas M. Human health effects of dioxins: cancer, reproductive and endocrine system effects. Hum Reprod Update. 2001;109:331–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Wang C, Xu C, Xia J, Qian Z. Modeling faults among e-bike-related fatal crashes in China. Traffic Inj Prev. 2017;18:175–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. The National People’s Congress of China (China NPC), 2015. Food safety law of the People’s Republic of China. Available from: http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2015-04/25/content_2853643.htm

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from China Medical Board (CMB) Collaborating Program (15-216) and Cyrus Tang Foundation (419600-11102)

Author information

Author notes

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

      Mayila Maimaiti, Xueyin Zhao, Menghan Jia, Yuan Ru & Shankuan Zhu

    2. Chronic Disease Research Institute, School of Public Health, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

      Mayila Maimaiti, Xueyin Zhao, Menghan Jia, Yuan Ru & Shankuan Zhu

    Authors
    1. Mayila Maimaiti
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    2. Xueyin Zhao
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    3. Menghan Jia
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    4. Yuan Ru
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    5. Shankuan Zhu
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    Corresponding author

    Correspondence to Shankuan Zhu.

    Ethics declarations

    Conflict of interest

    The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

    Additional information

    These authors contributed equally: Mayila Maimaiti, Xueyin Zhao.

    Rights and permissions

    Reprints and permissions

    About this article

    Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

    Cite this article

    Maimaiti, M., Zhao, X., Jia, M. et al. How we eat determines what we become: opportunities and challenges brought by food delivery industry in a changing world in China. Eur J Clin Nutr 72, 1282–1286 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0191-1

    Download citation

    • Received:

    • Accepted:

    • Published:

    • Issue Date:

    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0191-1

    This article is cited by

    Search

    Advanced search

    Quick links