Say cheese!

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games has stirred up a new round of enthusiasm for sports in China, with experts suggesting people combine moderate physical exercise with a healthy and balanced diet.

With this in mind, a national program engaged in carrying out nutrition and lifestyle research and drafting a more scientific nutrition plan for Chinese people has begun.

The program is a collaboration between the Chinese Nutrition Society (CNS), (a unit of the China Association for Science and Technology), and Central Marketing Organization of German Agricultural Industries (CMA), whose responsibility is marketing German agricultural, food and drink products.

"Our cooperation with CMA is just beginning," says Ge Keyou, president of CNS. "Depending on CMA's financial support, we will do a lot of surveys and research on Chinese people's dietary habits, their health conditions, and the nutritional needs for Asian people."

Furthermore, CMA will encourage its member enterprises - German food makers - to partner with CNS to develop some Chinese-style nutritious foods for locals.

According to CNS, survey questions will cover daily menus, lifestyles, exercise habits and the basic physical conditions of ordinary Chinese people.

Beijing will be the first city for their research. And in the coming years, they will expand the research to cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou in Guangdong province.

"Based on our nationwide research, we will formulate a detailed report to tell people how they can best absorb nutrition scientifically and increase the effects of physical exercise. For examples: how much water to drink during exercising and what one should do after playing sports activities," Ge notes, adding that it is an effective way to promote a better lifestyle and prevent chronic diseases.

And with disposable incomes and living conditions rising in China, the people are attaching more importance to health and nutrition.

But due to a lack of education, information and scientific support, a growing number of people are also facing health threats from various diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

"Indeed, given ordinary people's growing enthusiasm for sports, it is a golden chance to enhance nutrition and health awareness," Ge tells China Business Weekly.

The collaboration between CNS and CMA will make full use of the strengths of both sides - CNS's professionalism and expertise in nutritional science and CMA's agricultural corporation networks in Germany.

In addition to the surveys and research, the program will be promoted at a series of conferences, forums, fairs and exhibitions in China.

"Through those business events, we aim to help not only promote nutritional knowledge here, but also introduce German foods, beverages and other agricultural products to China." says Markus Kraus, president of CMA.

"The growing demand of high-nutrition food among Chinese people will provide huge opportunities for the German agricultural enterprises," Kraus, adds.

In addition, CMA will introduce world-leading agricultural technologies for seeding, planting, and processing to China and striving to establish a retail access for German food to Chinese consumers,

Kraus uses cheese as an example. Cheese provides energy, protein, vitamins such as A, and a range of B vitamins including riboflavin (vitamin B2) and B12, and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and zinc. Compared with fresh milk, calcium - which is essential for strong bones - cheese is more easily absorbed and utilized by the human body, Kraus says.

But most Chinese don't eat cheese at all and don't like the taste and very few eat it regularly.

A doctor of food nutrition for CMA, Andrea Lambeck, says one idea to make cheese more palatable to Chinese is to develop a low-fat cheese tweaked for Chinese tastes and health needs.

"Low-fat cheese would be good when doing activities such as sports, so we are joining hands with CNS to develop a kind of low-fat cheese that is tailored for Chinese people's bodies and their tastes," Lambeck says.

(China Daily 09/01/2008 page8)