China Resident Health Consumption Index: Unveiling Health Insights through Big Data Innovation
The “Healthy China 2030” Planning Outline proposes to improve the health literacy of the entire population. By 2030, healthy lifestyles will be universally adopted, and the main factors affecting residents’ health will be effectively controlled.
Surveys, monitoring, and risk assessments of residents’ health status are of great significance for implementing the Healthy China Action. “Improving a nationwide monitoring system for health literacy and lifestyle” has also been included in the outline of the plan.
To support the Healthy China Strategy, the Chinese Resident Health Consumption Index was jointly developed and compiled by Baodian Jianwen and the Fudan University Institute of Health Communication, under the guidance of the Population Culture Development Center of the National Health Commission and with the support of Huatai Securities, and was released on March 24.
This index aims to measure the impact of residents’ consumption habits on their health across different regions by leveraging big consumer data. It is derived by calculating specific metrics, including the average daily consumption of tobacco, alcohol, vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, and dairy products, as well as the proportion of residents who regularly engage in physical exercise. These figures are then combined with impact coefficients for health outcomes associated with such consumption behaviors, which are based on authoritative empirical medical studies.
Index Display
There Is Room for Improvement in Residents’ Health-Related Consumption Levels Across Regions
In 2021, Shanghai topped the list of resident health consumption indices among China’s 31 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions). The top ten provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions), excluding Shanghai, were Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Shanxi, and Guangxi.
△ Top 10 Rankings of the Health Consumption Index for Chinese Residents in 2021
Higher per capita GDP and life expectancy are strongly positively correlated with healthier consumer behaviors among local residents, indicating that the gap in life expectancy between populations in China’s economically developed and underdeveloped regions is significant. In addition to disparities in healthcare conditions and public health environments, differences in consumers’ health-related behaviors and lifestyles should not be overlooked.
△ Top 10 Regions by Resident Health Consumption Index in 2021Comparison of the Resident Health Consumption Index with Life Expectancy at Birth and GDP per Capita
Meanwhile, by comparing the rankings of regional residents’ health consumption indices, per capita GDP, and life expectancy, it is evident that local disparities persist. This offers a new perspective for evaluating residents’ healthy living standards: On one hand, rising economic levels can both encourage residents to purchase more health-oriented consumer goods and, to some extent, trigger a surge in demand for products detrimental to health. On the other hand, improvements in regional healthcare capabilities and the strengthening of social security systems enable residents to access better medical and health services, but may also lead them to relatively overlook the harms associated with “unhealthy” consumption. Under the influence of these factors, some regions rank high in per capita GDP and life expectancy yet lag behind in their health consumption indices.
Therefore, overall, there is room for improvement in the level of health-related consumer spending among residents across different regions.
Liu Jian, Deputy Director of the Population and Culture Development Center under the National Health Commission, stated that the Resident Health Consumption Index, which dynamically monitors residents’ health literacy and lifestyles based on big consumption data to serve the Healthy China Strategy, represents a highly meaningful endeavor.
According to Dr. Chen Qin, Chief Economist at Maice, Vice Dean of the Digital China Research Institute of the State Information Center, and a director involved in the index compilation, the development of the China Resident Health Consumption Index was launched in April 2021. The process underwent multiple stages, including academic research, indicator modeling, data mining and matching, and index calibration, and was validated in October of the same year by experts in relevant fields organized by the Institute of Health Communication at Fudan University. During the compilation process, the index also received consumer data support from JD Retail and JD Health.
The newly released index covers annual indicator data from 2020 to 2021. Going forward, the R&D team will continue to expand sources of consumer big data and refine the indicator structure to obtain a more accurate reflection of residents' health consumption levels.Fee Status, and dynamically release the latest statistical reports on a quarterly basis。
Huatai Securities stated that in recent years, the company has actively leveraged its deep-rooted advantages in both domestic and international capital markets to support the high-quality development of numerous outstanding healthcare and medical enterprises, thereby serving national welfare and people’s livelihoods. Through the “Yixin Huatai” Public Health Special Fund, it has supported epidemic prevention and control as well as the resumption of work and classes, while providing special financial assistance to medical personnel. With the implementation of big data monitoring and analysis in the field of public health, Huatai Securities will continue to harness its strengths in data technology and other areas, pool the professional expertise of more partners, and contribute to the substantial advancement of public health initiatives.
The Health Code in Consumer Big Data
According to data released by the National Health Commission, the overall level of health literacy among Chinese residents remains low (23.15% in 2020), with significant regional disparities in health issues and healthcare resources; the health status of certain regions and populations urgently needs improvement.
Although health behavior data have been reported in various regions, the survey samples are relatively limited and data updates are slow, making it impossible to comprehensively and timely reflect changes in the health behaviors of Chinese residents.
Internet big data offers another avenue for acquiring health behavior data. Currently, online shopping has become one of the most important means for residents to obtain daily necessities. The number of online shoppers in China approaches 800 million. Large e-commerce platforms boast extensive delivery coverage and high accessibility. The big data generated through these platforms provides valuable insights into residents’ health-related consumption behaviors.
The China Resident Health Consumption Index is a dynamic and sustainable indicator system built upon big data from online shopping transactions across 31 provinces (municipalities, and autonomous regions) in China, covering 36 categories and more than 200 types of products on leading domestic e-commerce platforms.
Dr. Chen Qin, the report’s author, has been dedicated to big data mining research in recent years. In his view, the most distinctive feature of the Resident Health Consumption Index is that it achieves a rare balance between the cost and accuracy of health data acquisition.
Traditional monitoring of behavioral lifestyles, under the premise of rigorous sampling design, involves conducting large-scale questionnaire surveys to inquire in detail about the behavioral lifestyles of each respondent. While this method yields highly credible conclusions, it also presents challenges such as long cycles, high costs, and significant implementation difficulties.
Furthermore, questionnaire surveys may be subject to "self-report bias," wherein respondents' reported behavioral and lifestyle patterns may reflect their ideal behaviors or intentions rather than their actual practices. For instance, when residents are asked about their exercise duration, the reported values often exceed the actual figures, as individuals tend to overestimate their physical activity levels and optimistically assess their health status.
Within the legal framework, leveraging big data on consumer spending from e-commerce platforms to analyze health indicators implicit in residents’ consumption behaviors—such as inferring lifestyle factors including dietary habits, physical activity levels, and smoking and alcohol consumption patterns from purchase data on food, tobacco and alcohol products, electronic devices, and sports equipment—enables broader sample coverage, higher update frequency, and greater cost-efficiency compared with questionnaire surveys.
△ Product Categories of the Evaluation System for Chinese Residents' Health Consumption Index
The report states that in constructing the evaluation system for the Resident Health Consumption Index, multiple sources of authoritative external data were used to validate e-commerce data, thereby enhancing data representativeness and accuracy. Meanwhile, by observing users’ purchases of “benchmark products,” the actual number of consumers behind the purchases was inferred, and further calculations were made to estimate the average daily per capita consumption of goods.
So-called “benchmark products” refer to items that a representative consumer uses daily in relatively stable quantities, such as cleaning supplies like toothpaste, body wash, and toilet paper. In big data observations, the purchaser is not necessarily the end consumer. Particularly in household settings, one individual often handles purchasing for the entire family. For instance, if a user buys 90 eggs per month from an e-commerce platform, it is unclear whether this user consumes three eggs daily or purchases them for a family of three, with each person consuming one egg per day. Judging solely by egg purchase volume makes it difficult to draw conclusions. In such cases, introducing “benchmark products” helps clarify the situation: if the same user is also observed purchasing personal care products in quantities sufficient for approximately three people, the conclusion becomes much clearer.
Finally, by referencing the impact (positive or negative) of different products on health, we can calculate the Health Consumption Index for residents in various regions across different product subcategories. The regional Health Consumption Index is then derived by applying weighted aggregation to these sub-indices.
Promoting Healthy Consumption: A Long and Arduous Journey
The first Resident Health Consumption Index comprises several dimensions, including nutritional intake, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol consumption, and is calculated using big data on e-commerce consumption from across China. This also marks the first proactive attempt to integrate e-commerce consumption big data with behavioral lifestyle monitoring.
Regarding the Health Consumption Index for specific products, Chen Qin believes that although limited by data categories and sources, this report represents a valuable exploration in the application of big data on health consumption. The most noteworthy aspect is the ranking of smoking rates across different regions. Although tobacco sales data cannot be obtained through e-commerce platforms, smoking behavior can still be estimated using big data on e-commerce consumption of tobacco-related products.
Specifically, lighters and smoking accessories are representative consumer goods associated with smoking behavior. A higher ranking on the Healthy Consumption Index for lighters and smoking accessories correlates with a lower smoking rate; conversely, a lower ranking indicates a higher smoking rate.
△Health Consumption Index and Ranking of Lighters and Smoking Accessories Among Chinese Residents, 2020–2021
The adverse health effects of smoking are evident. How can consumption of unhealthy products, such as tobacco, be reduced? Professor Zheng Pinpin from the School of Public Health at Fudan University, who has long been engaged in research on major health-related issues, believes that improving residents’ health literacy and promoting healthy lifestyles require a combination of top-down policies and bottom-up public mobilization.
On one hand, advertising and marketing of consumer products that have serious negative impacts on residents' health should be strictly restricted through legislation. At the same time, efforts to promote healthy lifestyles can draw lessons from China's distinctive Patriotic Health Campaign and its COVID-19 prevention and control measures in recent years, such as coordinating inter-departmental collaboration, conducting community mobilization, and emphasizing universal participation.
Regarding health literacy assessment and health education approaches, Zheng Pinpin also recommends adopting more grounded methods. “A bottom-up approach means we should encourage residents to voluntarily adopt healthy lifestyles, rather than imposing them through mandates. In health education, we sometimes need to be less formal. While the knowledge we provide must be rigorous and based on scientific evidence, the way it is presented should better align with audience preferences and be more targeted.”
Regarding the Resident Health Consumption Index, Zheng Pinpin stated that consumer big data is generated continuously, enabling real-time and dynamic monitoring of residents’ consumption patterns. In the future, this approach can be integrated with questionnaire surveys to provide foundational data for health promotion and guide residents toward healthier consumption habits.
Chen Qin stated that the research team behind the Resident Health Consumption Index will continue to expand its sources of consumer big data and consider extending the scope of study from general lifestyle consumption to medical and health-related consumption. The team will also conduct further in-depth validation, refine the indicator framework, and dynamically release updated statistical reports on a quarterly basis. Chen Qin further expressed welcome for more online and offline shopping platforms to join the Health Consumption Index research initiative, jointly advocating for rational and healthy consumption practices and promoting the widespread adoption of healthy lifestyles.
