What kind of takeout do Chinese people eat?

Recently, Ali Local Life Food Safety and Nutrition and Health Research Center, in conjunction with the Chinese Nutrition Society, released “Internet Food takeout consumption Nutrition and Health trend Insight” (hereinafter referred to as “trend Insight”). The dietary nutrition and health development trend of Internet food takeout population was analyzed in the form of big data for the first time.

Based on statistic data, the Ali Local Life Trend Insight analyzed the dietary structural characteristics and changing trend of takeout consumption in China from the dimensions of different ages, different genders, and different consumption frequency.

According to the report, the fastest-growing age group for consumption of takeout in China is people under the age of 25, or young people born after 1995, who are becoming the main consumers of the food delivery industry.

In the field of takeout consumption, women are more likely to choose takeout for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea, while men are more likely to choose takeout for dinner and midnight snacks. This may be due to women pay more attention to beauty, aiming to eat healthier dinner, and reject midnight snacks. In contrast, men care less aboout that, and some have strong need for midnight snacks when staying up late to watch sporting events.

In terms of diet, women prefer vegetables, fruits, aquatic products and nuts, while men prefer meat. Men have a higher preference for meat and fried potatoes than women by 0.6% and 2.2%, respectively.

Chinese people’s habit of choosing takeout during breakfast is rapidly developing. In 2019, Alibaba was an active app takeout user aged over 50, 41-50, 36-40, 31-35, 26-30 and under 25, and the percentage of takeout at breakfast reached 39.4%, 43.2%, 43.5%, 41.9%, 42.6% and 59.6%, respectively, an increase of more than 20% over 2018.

In terms of dietary health, the report shows that users’ consumption ratio of meat, aquatic products, and eggs is gradually increasing, while the consumption ratio of grains, vegetables, and fruits is slightly lower. With the rapid development of the economy, the eating habits of Chinese people are also changing, from “vegetarian enthusiasts” to meat lovers. But nutrition experts have also made hints, advising Chinese people to increase their intake of vegetables to maintain a balanced diet.

According to the report, people under the age of 30 eat more fruits and vegetables, while people aged 31 – 50 prefer meat, aquatic products, and eggs, indicating that young people are more aware of and more concerned about the balanced diet. In addition, users under the age of 50 are significantly more interested in dairy products, beans, and nuts than those over 50, which also means that the Chinese diet is gradually adjusted.

In particular, it should be noted that people who consume takeout at high frequency tend to have a more unhealthy diet. In the report, high-frequency takeout consumers consumed 1% more meat than average, 5% higher consumption of aquatic products, and 9% higher consumption of fried potatoes. Excessive fat intake may lead to health damage to high-frequency consumers of takeout.