Weight loss has become the hottest new Chinese consumer craze

Tanner Brown

A wellness boom looks to be reshaping China, with gyms and diet apps, alongside the new injectable weight-loss drugs, claiming wallet share

A participant in a 2019 health festival in Hangzhou, China, bathes in a spring-fed pool resembling a hotpot.

China's urban consumer boom has long been defined by indulgence. The rise of bubble-tea chains, hotpot restaurants and snack-delivery apps symbolized a growing middle class eager to spend money on comfort and convenience. But now a new trend is reshaping the country's spending patterns: weight loss.

From diet apps and boutique gyms to calorie-counted meal delivery and prescription injections, the health-and-fitness trend has become one of the hottest consumer stories in China. The shift reflects changing lifestyles, rising health concerns and the social pressures associated with body image in the world's second-largest economy.

A growing market

Obesity rates in China have climbed steadily over the past two decades. The World Health Organization estimates that over half of Chinese adults are now overweight or obese. Combined with an aging population and an official push under the government's "Healthy China 2030" initiative, this has spurred demand for wellness services and products.

The World Health Organization estimates that over half of Chinese adults are overweight or obese.

Market research firm iiMedia determined that China's weight-loss industry surpassed 300 billion yuan ($41 billion) in 2023 and is growing at double-digit rates. Much of that growth is driven by younger consumers. On Douyin (the local version of TikTok) and lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu, "body check" videos and calorie-tracking content attract billions of views each month.

"I used to buy milk tea every day after work. Now I spend the same money on protein shakes," said Li Wen, a 27-year-old marketing assistant in Shanghai. "My friends all compare calories and share tips in our group chats. If you don't, you feel left out."

The demographic backdrop is striking. Government data concur with the WHO in suggesting that more than half of Chinese adults are now overweight or obese - up from just a third two decades ago. The share of overweight or obese children aged 7 to 18 has quadrupled since the mid-1990s to nearly one in four today, with projections pointing to a further rise by 2030.

This has helped fuel a weight-management market valued at roughly 618.5 billion yuan ($85 billion) in 2023, according to China Briefing, expanding at double-digit rates as gyms, supplement makers and pharmaceutical companies race to capture demand.

From salad to spin class

Across major cities, "light food" restaurants offering salads, smoothies and calorie-counted bowls are multiplying, while gym chains are expanding aggressively. App-based fitness subscriptions surged during and after the pandemic, with companies offering livestreamed workouts that target young professionals with scarce time for in-person classes.

"I joined a cycling studio this spring. It's expensive, but it feels like the new social scene," said 24-year-old Beijing resident Zhang Yue. "Everyone posts their workout screenshots online. It's about showing discipline as much as losing weight."

The craze has spilled into e-commerce. Platforms like JD.com and Taobao are reporting surging sales of imported supplements, protein powders and "sugar free" snacks. At the same time, traditional diet pills and teas - often sold without clear regulation - remain widely available.

Injectables enter the scene

In parallel with these lifestyle trends, China is now seeing rising interest in injectable weight-loss drugs, following the global frenzy over Novo Nordisk's (DK:NOVO.B) (NVO) Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly's (LLY) Mounjaro.

While these GLP-1 receptor agonists were first developed for diabetes treatment, their dramatic weight-loss effects have made them blockbuster drugs. Analysts at Goldman Sachs estimate the global market could exceed $100 billion by the end of the decade.

China is a crucial front in that race. Novo Nordisk has said it is working with regulators to expand access to Wegovy, though so far it is only available for diabetes under the name Ozempic. Domestic pharmaceutical firms are developing their own GLP-1 drugs, with at least a dozen candidates in clinical trials.

For now, Novo's products are quick and easy to get in China. A reporter with MarketWatch ordered an injectable pen of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, using the ubiquitous Meituan mobile app. No prescription was needed. The cost was 750 yuan ($105) for a month's supply, and the medicine arrived in a styrofoam temperature-controlled box by motorbike delivery driver within an hour.

"I heard about it from my cousin in the U.S.," said Chen Qiang, a 32-year-old IT engineer in Shenzhen. "If it really works, I would pay for it, even if it's expensive. But it feels risky - we don't know the long-term effects."

Policy and risk

Government health authorities have promoted fitness campaigns and encouraged healthier diets in pursuit of national goals. But regulators are also wary of scams. In recent years, Chinese media has reported cases of unsafe diet pills, unlicensed clinics and misleading advertising.

Mental-health experts warn of downsides, too. The spread of "body check" videos and online diet culture has fueled body-image pressure, especially among women. "It's good that people want to be healthy," a Guangzhou psychologist was quoted in local media as having said. "But obsession with thinness can lead to anxiety and eating disorders."

An investor story

For investors, the trend is creating a new consumer play. Gyms, wellness chains and app production companies are seeking fresh capital. Listed firms in nutrition, supplements and pharma could benefit if the boom proves durable. Hong Kong-listed gyms like Keep (HK:3650) and meal-replacement companies such as WonderLab have attracted attention from private equity.

The injectable story adds another layer, with domestic drug manufacturers racing to compete in what could become one of the biggest new pharmaceutical markets in China.

Whether it's salad chains, spin classes or GLP-1 injections, the underlying driver is the same: a generation of Chinese consumers who, amid slower growth and fewer big-ticket purchases, are now channeling disposable income into health, fitness and self-image.

As Li Wen, the Shanghai office worker, put it: "I may not be able to buy an apartment right now. But I can still control my body. That feels like something worth investing in."

Tanner Brown covers China for MarketWatch and Barron's.

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-Tanner Brown

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09-08-25 1056ET