Chinese Americans Struggle to Eat Healthy

Every year 9 million people under 60 die from diseases that don't spread, such as cancer, diabetes and strokes. The UN and China recently called for a greater effort to reduce these figures. One tactic is to encourage healthy eating. But as Dominic Swire reports from Chinatown in the American city of Philadelphia, tackling the issue is easier said than done.

Lunchtime at an afterschool programme for Chinese kids in the American city of Philadelphia.

"I'm Austin and I'm 12 years old."

"How often do you eat American food?"

"Every day."

"What did you eat today?"

"Cheeseburger."

"What's your favouite American food?"

"Hamburger."

"I'm Elizabeth and I'm 11."

"Elizabeth, what did you eat for lunch today?"

"Waffles."

"How do you like waffles?"

"Good."

At such a young age, it's difficult to know what's healthy to eat. And that's a problem because it could lead to disease in later life. Around one fifth of Chinese American adults are overweight. And this means greater risk of cancer, diabetes or heart disease.

Chin Du is a health expert that works with the Chinese community in Philadelphia.

"I think it's the access to abundant food here. People drink coffee drink tea there's a lot of beverages containing high sugar. Just everywhere. It's a lot of food. Back in China, in old China we didn't really have that much to eat. Even me, I grew up in the 70s and 80s in China and back then we just didn't have this variety of food. But here it's just everywhere."

Junk food is so popular in Philadelphia, even Chinese businesses are affected. Kevin runs a large Restaurant in Philadelphia's Chinatown.

"From our experience, we have seen a slight decrease of young Chinese customers in the restaurant. Because when they're young their parents take them to the restaurant. But when they grow up they're more and more into American food. Then they stop coming here."

But the truth is that Chinese food itself is not always that healthy, as Kevin admits.

"We've seen customers complain about too much oil, too much salt, and too much MSG. That's why we try to cut down on those things to fit more to American tastes. Because people want to be more healthy."

Kevin's restaurant is just one hour away from New York City, the home of the United Nations. Delegates here recently adopted a plan to reduce the amount of unhealthy food marketed towards children. But whether this will be enough to encourage long-term healthy eating is another question.

Reporting for CRI from Philadelphia, I'm Dominic Swire.