Thin Hong Kong

There are no (large) obese people in Hong Kong.

This may sound like a gross overgeneralization but after living here and spending a great deal of time on the streets and in the public transportation system I can make the claim with a great deal of confidence. That is, I never see any US-style grossly obese people in Hong Kong, and very few that I would even describe as “chubby”. The only time I spot someone who is significantly overweight, they turn out to be a Westerner from the US or the UK.

Assuming I do not have a biased sample (obese people are less likely to walk outside, use public transportation, etc), what is the explanation for Thin Hong Kong?

It is not due to a lack of eating. I have commented on the lunch ritual that entails almost every working person going out to lunch at the strike of 12:30 for at least one hour. It has also been observed that Hong Kong residents eat out in restaurants more often than any other population in the world. There is always a queue at the lunch and dinner hours at most restaurants.

So, it must be due to genetics, diet, exercise or likely some combination of these.

On the genetics front: Since there is a massive literature emerging on rising obesity levels in China (see the book, Fat China), and Hong Kong, thin is not an inevitable genetic fate but there does seem to be evidence that obesity in the Chinese takes a different body form than it does in the US. And if obesity is rising in Hong Kong, the phrase “it’s all relative” must be applied as the US is light years ahead on gross national girth.

Diet has always been regarded as a major source of Chinese health. The menu here is heavy on soup, vegetables, fish, chicken, pork, along with rice and soybean. When people eat out they have thousands of restaurants to choose from and these are small and medium size operations that are located everywhere in Hong Kong serving traditional Cantonese fare. People tend to share dishes rather than consume a single entry solo. While fast food is available, it is not on every street corner and it does not seem to be as widely consumed. People drink tea rather than soda. However, there are a large number of bakeries selling various buns and deserts.
In terms of exercise, though people eat out a lot, they will likely have to walk some distance to get to the restaurant. Hong Kongers do a lot of walking to bus stops, public transportation stations, etc. Most people do not drive or own cars. I believe the walking culture is a major contributor to the relatively lean population.

As noted, all of this may be changing as Western dietary habits and less physical activity, along with greater stress, creep into the lifestyle. It seems that in China it takes less increased obesity to produce correspondingly high increases in diabetes. Diabetes in China has now reached epidemic levels.