Spatiotemporal differences and influencing factors of the dietary structure index in Chinese urban residents

The diversity of urban residents’ dietary in China has increased with socioeconomic development. However, still there is a prominent problem of unbalanced and inadequate regional development of diet. Exploring the characteristics of the dietary structure of urban residents in China as expressed by D...

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Main Authors: Tianyang Chen, Zheng Guo, Sophia Shuang Chen, Giri Raj Kattel, Shimou Yao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1548702/full
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author Tianyang Chen
Zheng Guo
Zheng Guo
Sophia Shuang Chen
Sophia Shuang Chen
Giri Raj Kattel
Giri Raj Kattel
Giri Raj Kattel
Shimou Yao
author_facet Tianyang Chen
Zheng Guo
Zheng Guo
Sophia Shuang Chen
Sophia Shuang Chen
Giri Raj Kattel
Giri Raj Kattel
Giri Raj Kattel
Shimou Yao
author_sort Tianyang Chen
collection DOAJ
description The diversity of urban residents’ dietary in China has increased with socioeconomic development. However, still there is a prominent problem of unbalanced and inadequate regional development of diet. Exploring the characteristics of the dietary structure of urban residents in China as expressed by Dietary Structure Index (DSI) holds greater significance for healthier China. This paper analyzes the spatiotemporal differentiation and influencing factors of the DSI of Chinese urban residents, and concludes that from 2015 to 2022, the average values of DSI of Chinese urban residents showed a significant upward trend. Specifically, the comprehensive DSI and animal-based DSI still have a significant gap with the scientifically recommended balanced dietary pattern, while the plant-based DSI is generally higher. There is a clear regional pattern in the spatial distribution of the DSI of urban residents in China, which generally shows a decreasing trend from northeast to southwest. The spatial agglomeration of the comprehensive DSI and the animal-based DSI are significantly higher than the plant-based DSI. In general, the DSI of Chinese urban residents is positively correlated with the level of consumption, urbanization, and education, while negatively correlated with the consumer price index. We propose promoting plant-based diets and reducing excessive meat consumption in high-DSI regions, while leveraging urban infrastructure to deliver nutrition education and providing subsidies for healthier food options in markets. In low-DSI regions, interventions should focus on incentivizing local production of vegetables and legumes through agricultural subsidies, expanding cold-chain logistics to enhance the distribution of perishable foods, and establishing community-based nutrition programs to improve residents’ food literacy, and argue that these are the potential measures to optimize the dietary structure of Chinese urban residents.
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publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
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spelling doaj-art-b52a85c45a934dfd876c79074a939dd12025-08-20T01:51:44ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems2571-581X2025-05-01910.3389/fsufs.2025.15487021548702Spatiotemporal differences and influencing factors of the dietary structure index in Chinese urban residentsTianyang Chen0Zheng Guo1Zheng Guo2Sophia Shuang Chen3Sophia Shuang Chen4Giri Raj Kattel5Giri Raj Kattel6Giri Raj Kattel7Shimou Yao8School of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, ChinaSchool of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Watershed Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, ChinaSchool of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Watershed Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, ChinaSchool of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, ChinaDepartment of Infrastructure Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaDepartment of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Watershed Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, ChinaThe diversity of urban residents’ dietary in China has increased with socioeconomic development. However, still there is a prominent problem of unbalanced and inadequate regional development of diet. Exploring the characteristics of the dietary structure of urban residents in China as expressed by Dietary Structure Index (DSI) holds greater significance for healthier China. This paper analyzes the spatiotemporal differentiation and influencing factors of the DSI of Chinese urban residents, and concludes that from 2015 to 2022, the average values of DSI of Chinese urban residents showed a significant upward trend. Specifically, the comprehensive DSI and animal-based DSI still have a significant gap with the scientifically recommended balanced dietary pattern, while the plant-based DSI is generally higher. There is a clear regional pattern in the spatial distribution of the DSI of urban residents in China, which generally shows a decreasing trend from northeast to southwest. The spatial agglomeration of the comprehensive DSI and the animal-based DSI are significantly higher than the plant-based DSI. In general, the DSI of Chinese urban residents is positively correlated with the level of consumption, urbanization, and education, while negatively correlated with the consumer price index. We propose promoting plant-based diets and reducing excessive meat consumption in high-DSI regions, while leveraging urban infrastructure to deliver nutrition education and providing subsidies for healthier food options in markets. In low-DSI regions, interventions should focus on incentivizing local production of vegetables and legumes through agricultural subsidies, expanding cold-chain logistics to enhance the distribution of perishable foods, and establishing community-based nutrition programs to improve residents’ food literacy, and argue that these are the potential measures to optimize the dietary structure of Chinese urban residents.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1548702/fulldietary structurespatiotemporal differentiationinfluencing factorsspatial econometric modelurban residents
spellingShingle Tianyang Chen
Zheng Guo
Zheng Guo
Sophia Shuang Chen
Sophia Shuang Chen
Giri Raj Kattel
Giri Raj Kattel
Giri Raj Kattel
Shimou Yao
Spatiotemporal differences and influencing factors of the dietary structure index in Chinese urban residents
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
dietary structure
spatiotemporal differentiation
influencing factors
spatial econometric model
urban residents
title Spatiotemporal differences and influencing factors of the dietary structure index in Chinese urban residents
title_full Spatiotemporal differences and influencing factors of the dietary structure index in Chinese urban residents
title_fullStr Spatiotemporal differences and influencing factors of the dietary structure index in Chinese urban residents
title_full_unstemmed Spatiotemporal differences and influencing factors of the dietary structure index in Chinese urban residents
title_short Spatiotemporal differences and influencing factors of the dietary structure index in Chinese urban residents
title_sort spatiotemporal differences and influencing factors of the dietary structure index in chinese urban residents
topic dietary structure
spatiotemporal differentiation
influencing factors
spatial econometric model
urban residents
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1548702/full
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