| Chapter 2: | Background |
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30% of energy from fat, with energy intakes from carbohydrates further decreasing to 53.3% in urban and 62.1% in rural regions. The Chinese total diet study (10) in 1990 showed that the proportion of animal fat reached 53% of the total fat intake. The ratio of total saturated fatty acid (SFA): total monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA): total polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ratio was 1.0:1.5:1.0. In southern China, the ratio of PUFA was relatively low, but the ratio of monounsaturated fatty acids was relatively high for dietary fat (11).
2.1.1.3 Physical Activity
Previous surveys showed that physical activity significantly decreased in the urban region, but this was not the case in the rural region. CHNS data (1) demonstrated that the proportion of urban adults working in occupations where vigorous activity was required had decreased and increased where the activity patterns was light. This change was related to the shifting of economic activity toward the service sector and technological improvement in the workplace. In rural areas, however, there was a shift toward increased physical activity, which was linked to holding multiple jobs and more intensive effort, especially among men. For rural women, the proportion engaged in both heavy and light work increased, and the proportion engaged in moderate effort work decreased. Hu et al. (12) carried out a population-based study in Tianjin, one of the largest cities in north China. Their data showed that 36% of men and 44% of women engaged in sedentary occupations, 50% of males and 41% of females engaged in active, strenuous occupations, and the remaining worked in occupations with intermediate working level including walking and standing.
In China, the daily activity of going to and from work has traditionally been one of the major forms of physical activity. In urban Tianjin, more than 90% of people went to work by bicycle or on foot.