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Obesity is becoming a serious issue in China, especially for city dwellers, as a result of higher incomes, changes in consumer habits and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. This trend has been widely discussed in Western newspapers, which describe the rapid transformation of a country where less than 50 years ago people were starving, but now suffer from over-consumption.  The development of fast food chains, the increasing use of cars and the “little emperor syndrome ((In the wake of China’s one child policy, children tend to be indulged by parents and grandparents, and are sometimes considered to be spoiled.)) are all different factors that may explain the rising number of overweight citizens in China.Unlike in Europe or the USA, obesity in China is mainly an urban disease. In Western countries, rural obesity is more prevalent than urban obesity ((Simmons, E. (2010), Rural Obesity in the United States: Causes, Consequences, and a Need for Change, Washington and Lee University, http://www.wlu.edu/documents/shepherd/academics/cap_10_Simmons.pdf )). This is partly due to transportation issues and a lack of physical activity.  Rural and suburban inhabitants need to use their personal car frequently, whereas, city dwellers exercise and walk more. Therefore, we can conclude that cities and the way there are planned have an influence on inhabitants’ weight and health. However, Chinese cities do not seem to have been properly designed to encourage physical activity. This is the premise defended by five scholars (Kristen Day, Mariela Alfonzo, Chen Yufei, Guo Zhan and Karen Lee) in an article published this year in “Health and Place” ((Day, K., Alfonzo M., Chen Y., Guo, Z. and Lee K. (2013), Overweight, obesity, and inactivity  and urban design in rapidly growing Chinese cities;  Health &#38; Place 21, pp.29-38 )).In the first section of this article, which is based on a broad literature review, the authors list factors related to urban planning that contribute to the rise of obesity in Chinese cities.The authors deplore the use of the post WW2 US suburbanisation model in post reform Chinese cities, as this has led to urban sprawl.Land development projects have been widely used by local authorities to provide financial resources. The development of special activities parks and zones has increased the distance between working and residential areas, thus making cars or public transportation necessary for daily commuting.Before the reforms, under the “Danwei” system, people used to live and work in the same area within a closed community.  The authors claim that the principle of closed communities continues to exist in the form of gated neighbourhoods. However, inhabitants can no longer live, work and shop in the same place. Furthermore, there is no public transportation within gated neighbourhoods, which can be very large on account of their superblock structures.Another problem is the fact that the local authorities encourage car-ownership. Although some cities (including Beijing and Guangzhou) have started trying to restrict the use of cars because of increasing traffic jams, car ownership is still regarded as a sign of social progress and  status. The authors also point out that a majority of Chinese are new drivers, and use their car much more often, and for shorter trips, than drivers in New York or Tokyo. According to the authors, Chinese cities have been quite slow to develop public transportation, but instead have encouraged car use by creating more car-friendly infrastructures.In contrast, use of the traditional bicycle has been constantly declining since the reforms. In many cases, traditional bicycles have been replaced by electric bicycles.  The authors also blame local authorities for having implemented rules that are not friendly to bike-users. Whereas increasing bike lanes has been the trend in Western countries, Chinese cities have made the opposite choice, converting bike lanes into car lanes.  The study also shows that parking places for bikes have been reduced or have been poorly maintained in order to discourage users.One last point concerns pedestrians.  In the authors’ opinion, pedestrians have to put up with a very unpleasant walking environment, with long crossings and unhelpful traffic signals (for example, very short green lights for pedestrians).  They also point out that because of the preference given to cars, some sidewalks have been converted into car parks.  Chinese cities also punish jaywalkers more harshly than they do disrespectful drivers.All these factors contribute to the reduction of Chinese urban dwellers’ physical activity.This article next examines the relation between high density cities and obesity, but the authors do not see a clear link between physical activity and population density based on their literature review; several factors, including a city’s level of development may interfere in this relation.In the last section, the authors study the example of New York and its active design programme. They believe a similar strategy could be used by Chinese city planners.First, “walkability” should not be set as a new goal to reach, but should be associated with present objectives. In the case of China, urban planners should take into account the  economic benefits of walkability (economic benefits from pedestrian areas, rise of real estate prices in walkable districts...)“Active design” should be promoted at the national level, so that Chinese cities take pride in being more walkable.New York City is committed to the health of its inhabitants. Chinese urban planners should not neglect these health issues.Local agencies should cooperate in urban planning in order to promote health and active design.It can be argued that New York is an exception in American urbanisation and that, generally, American cities are not so “walkable”. Moreover if we consider greater New York, including parts of New Jersey, we can observe that walkability is not prevalent.However, it is both advantageous and worthwhile for Chinese cities to look at the successes and failures of foreign cities, so they may learn from their example. In Western countries, cities try to reduce their car-dependency and to encourage physical activity.  As Chinese cities are in the process of urbanisation, they can now adapt their plans to these requirements, and attack obesity at its core. However, this means that the whole decision making process for Chinese urbanisation must be reconsidered.We should not be too pessimistic, as we can already see that some Chinese cities are trying to adapt to this new situation, and are restricting car traffic in order to reduce pollution.  This will also improve inhabitants’ health.