SHENZHEN ranks third and fourth in the country in terms of order quantity and customer number regarding “light meals,” which feature low carbs and attractive packaging, according to a light meal consumption report published by the Meituan delivery platform.

“Light meal” refers to food that has low energy density and is low in calories and high in fiber. A growing number of young people have now become devotees of this type of meal. Some of them even substitute their daily meals for salad, joking that they are eating “grass” (green vegetables).

The report indicated that the number of “light meals” ordered on the Meituan platform last year exceeded 26.62 million, an increase of 157.9 percent year on year, with sales volume growing by 159 percent.

At the same time, the Meituan app saw a boom in searches for phrases including light meal, low-fat diet, diet meal and health meal. The number of online restaurants offering “light meals” was up 119.8 percent compared to 2017.

People born in the 1990s are the major consumers of “light meals,” accounting for over 62 percent of all “light meal” purchasers, followed by people born in the 1980s at 26 percent.

In terms of gender, females make up more than 70 percent of all “light meal” lovers.

Although a “light meal” diet is a healthy lifestyle that helps with losing weight and reducing the risk for several chronic diseases, people should make sure they are getting balanced nutrition from their diets, suggested He Jiguo, a professor with the college of food science and nutritional engineering at China Agricultural University.

(Wang Jingli)