With a population of 1.4 billion people, China has a unique opportunity to enhance urban health on a massive scale. Rapid urbanisation has seen 21 mega-cities scale to populations of over 5 million each and over 145 cities are home to more than 1 million people each. This city boom has made urban obesity prevention an urgent national priority.

 

In June, Xiamen hosted the launch of Cities for Better Health in China, bringing together 40 national and regional health agency representatives to drive forward strategies for healthier urban living. The six Cities for Better Health partner cities in China, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Xiamen, representing a population of nearly 100 million, were all represented and reaffirmed their commitment to the programme.

As China’s cities have grown in number and size, so have the associated health challenges. It is estimated that childhood obesity in China will increase by 6.6% annually from 2020 to 2035.¹ The role cities can play in promoting public health and preventing childhood obesity is at the heart of the Shanghai Declaration on Health Promotion in Sustainable Development 2030. Cities for Better Health is closely aligned with the national Healthy China 2030 agenda for health and development in promoting comprehensive primary prevention goals.

Liao Huasheng, deputy mayor of the Xiamen Municipal People's Government, spoke with optimism about the programme's impact in China. “Xiamen has made important progress and benefited greatly from the partnership with Cities Changing Diabetes (forerunner to Cities for Better Health). Now, the project has been expanded to focus on making cities healthier and more liveable. I believe that even greater developments can be made with the joint efforts of cities and multisector stakeholders.”

The consensus among speakers was clear: addressing urban health challenges requires a collective approach. Governments must set the framework with laws and policies, society must provide healthy lifestyle opportunities, and individuals must commit to healthier behaviours.

 

In concluding remarks, Wei Tao, from the Medical Emergency Department of the National Health Commission, said: “The National Health Commission will work to promote weight management activities, taking obesity prevention and control as a starting point, and push the prevention and control of chronic diseases forward.”