China
Leading cause: Stroke · 63% plant-based · 78.2 yr life expectancy · UHC 85/100
What People Eat
The Cornell-Oxford-China Project: rural counties eating near-zero animal foods have near-zero rates of heart disease and breast cancer.
Disease Burden
Leading cause of death: Stroke · 148 / 100k
Bars show each rate against the global range; the tick marks the world median.
China's mortality is led by stroke (148/100k), with cancer (142/100k) and heart disease (129/100k) close behind, a burden that has climbed steeply with rising meat intake and urbanization. The Cornell-Oxford-China Project famously found rural counties eating almost no animal foods had near-zero heart disease and breast cancer.
Healthcare System
Sources: WHO UHC Service Coverage Index (SDG 3.8.1) & WHO Global Health Expenditure Database. Latest available year.
What Could Improve
- Slow the rapid rise in meat and processed-food intake driving the climbing CVD and cancer rates.
- Cut dietary salt and expand hypertension control to address the leading stroke burden.
- Preserve the rural plant-based patterns the China Study tied to near-zero chronic disease.
Explore the evidence: Stroke
China Study · Campbell & Chen, 1990 · Oxford Univ. Press
→ Plant-based rural areas: near 0% heart disease