IJFANS International Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences

ISSN PRINT 2319 1775 Online 2320-7876

Selling for Health: Aging and Family Care in Contemporary China

Main Article Content

Sirui Wang

Abstract

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, since 2022, negative population growth and rapid increase in the elderly population have become the new social reality. With the growth of the aging population, the healthcare industry serving the elderly will enter a golden period of development. The increasing ageing population changes the societal structure: older adults in China are becoming dependent, and antiaging, which makes dietary supplements popular, is prevalent. In the essay, based on the interviews of 15 elders, I define dietary supplements as solving seniors' anxiety about diseases and assuaging their fear of being a burden. On the one hand, this study reveals how China's reforms affect filial piety and promote the dietary supplement market. On the other hand, through the agents of dietary supplement buying and selling, it indicates the shifting building of social networking from professional persuasion (buying from salesmen) to personal bonding (buying from relatives and friends).

Article Details