BEIJING — As the warm afternoon sun slanted in, the clamor faded to a quiet hush in a courtyard lush with trees and flowers in a coastal community of Xiamen, East China's Fujian province.

Geng Xue, 55, runs a light food eatery at a three-and-a-half-storey villa. While many peers woo white-collar workers and fitness enthusiasts in downtown buildings with traditional light dishes like boiled chicken and raw salad, Geng's eatery stands apart. The signboard above her semi-dome entrance proudly reads "Hot Chinese Light Meals".

Geng's menu presents a fresh take on local cuisine, offering lighter versions of beloved dishes like soy sauce chicken and monk fruit-braised beef, all prepared to retain both flavor and nutritional value. "Farewell to the days of 'eating grass'. Warm dishes go better with Chinese stomachs," a customer noted on the eatery's Dianping page, a popular review platform akin to Yelp in China.

Health and weight awareness have taken center stage in China in recent years, as the world's second-largest economy looks to address the "sweet burden" of affluence: obesity. Today, more than half of all adults in the country are overweight or obese, a figure that could reach 65.3 percent by 2030, official data calculated in 2020.

This trend has spurred a national focus on wellness foods. A bold estimate released at a July industry conference in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, projected the market for sugar-free and low-sugar foods in China will exceed 900 billion yuan ($126.4 billion) by 2027.

Appeal of familiarity

The market, however, was initially dominated by Western-style dishes — salad loaded with leafy greens and topped with lean proteins. For many in a country renowned for its culinary diversity like China, such offerings left much to be desired.

Deng Linyu, a dance major in her junior year in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan province, tried to shed weight in the summer of 2022 by following a strict regimen of daily workouts and meals of whole-grain bread, greens and zero-fat sauces.

After losing three kilograms, however, she found herself suffering from stomach ache and mood swings. Deng returned to traditional Chinese food while cutting back on bubble tea and snacks. She successfully shed another two kilograms. "Losing weight on a traditional diet is easier on my body," Deng said.

Economics is also a factor. A salad featuring avocado jam, boiled egg, vegetables and healthy rice costs 68 yuan at a Western-style eatery in Beijing. For many, that's a splurge considering the average annual salary for private-sector employees was 68,340 yuan in 2023.

Industry insiders challenged the stereotype that "light food" has to be bland. Whether food is considered "light", they asserted, is not determined by ingredients, quantity or preparation, but rather by its calories. Weight control does not have to be an ascetic process.

Almost overnight, stir-fries and dumplings featuring a cornucopia of familiar proteins and vegetables — now prepared with reduced oil, salt, sugar and carbohydrates — have appeared on many menus. Even beloved holiday treats like Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes and Dragon Boat Festival zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) have enjoyed a wellness makeover, featuring lighter fillings and bite-sized portions for calorie-conscious celebrators.

Attune to the market trend, Geng diversified her nutrition business. She rebranded a noodle shop into a light food eatery in Kunming in 2023, followed by a second location in Xiamen in late February.

Seven months into the operation of her Xiamen shop, she is serving 40 to 60 meals a day, priced at around 30 yuan each, gleaning a monthly profit of roughly 10,000 yuan. She expects a larger chunk of future profits in light meals from training programs, which are priced at roughly 4,500 yuan on her shop on WeChat, Tencent's all-in-one social media app.

"In five to 10 years, I believe more people will embrace my ideas," Geng said, referring to the growing preference for fresh ingredients, lighter Chinese cooking methods, and the view that food is part of a healthy lifestyle rather than just a way to fuel up between work. This is why she chose to establish her light food business in communities rather than corporate offices.

Affordable alternatives

Wellness isn't limited to restaurants on high streets or neighborhoods. For fans of traditional street foods, fast food options are evolving, too.

In 2023, domestic fast-food chain Home Original Chicken introduced a weight-control menu that quickly went viral, sparking a craze among young people. The brand also lists calories against its main dishes on food delivery platforms like Eleme.

Xu Lan (pseudonym), a college teacher in Kunming, is a fan of malatang — a dish traditionally featuring fresh vegetables and meat cooked in a spicy, flavorful broth. It's a great spot for her and her friends to sit, chat and catch up with each other from time to time.

"I go for a light broth, swap meatballs for options like basa fish or chicken breast, and add low-calorie, nutrient-dense sides like lotus root, Chinese yam and leafy greens, pretty much the same way I cook at home," said the 42-year-old.

In fact, homemade dishes, like scrambled eggs with tomatoes, can be just as enjoyable when prepared with a lighter touch, said Xiaodou, a 39-year-old employee at a bank in South China's Guangdong province.

She lost 20 kg over seven months by reducing carbs, oil and salt intake and keeping a consistent dinner routine. Rather than following market trends blindly, she has been gradually replacing unhealthy ingredients in her diet with healthier ones. "Some of these replacements are actually more economical," Xiaodou said.

The evolution of light meals in China reflects people's continued pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, and has become a journey of self-discovery for many, said experts. The trend also underscores young people's growing identity with homegrown culture and their confidence in it, they added.

Xinhua