Soul Zhang Lu Reveals Gen Z’s Take on Weight Management

Data is no longer just a tool for analysis; when used correctly, it can be a window into cultural shifts, market opportunities, and the aspirations of younger generations. And the CEO of Soul App, Zhang Lu is among the few business leaders who are in a position to tap into Gen Z’s perceptions, attitudes, needs, and desires.

Because Soul is especially popular among China’s Zoomers, data collected from the social platform’s user base is often a cultural barometer that uncovers emerging trends in health, lifestyle, and self-management. Soul Zhang Lu’s research team conducts multiple surveys throughout the year to gain an understanding of these trends.

Most recently, Soul released the 2025 Young People’s Weight Loss Report. The timing was perfect since the Chinese government started its “Year of Weight Management” initiative in 2024. This move turned the obesity discourse from a niche concern to a nationwide conversation, and Soul Zhang Lu juxtaposed the survey against the backdrop of this discussion.

Just So Soul, the research division of the social networking platform, found that nearly 80% of China’s Gen Z have considered or are considering losing the extra pounds. About 50% of the surveyed said that they had gone a step further and were already actively pursuing weight management. With the growing interest in weight loss, researchers wanted to understand what was driving this Gen Z behavior.

Like with older generations, aesthetic appeal was a strong motivator, but it was certainly not the only impetus. Along with beauty, half of the people who participated in Soul Zhang Lu’s survey also cited good health as the primary reason to pursue weight loss goals. Around 40% highlighted the desire for greater self-control and routine that comes courtesy of weight management.

From a commercial point of view, this means that products and services that only target superficial beauty goals may fail to resonate with Gen Z. So, product makers and service providers need to focus on solutions that combine health, confidence, and lifestyle balance.

Soul Zhang Lu’s study also highlighted that youngsters are happy to spend on their weight management goals. Be it gym memberships, fitness gear/clothes, or dietary supplements, Zoomers are willing to open up their wallets for quality products and services that will help them to melt away the lard.

The survey revealed that the typical youngster in China spends approximately 1500 RMB per year on weight loss. One in ten participants revealed that they spend significantly more than this average, at around 5000 RMB/year. Of course, this is not to say that everybody takes this route to fitness; many survey respondents reported spending very little or next to nothing on the process, yet they were just as serious and keen on weight management.

This points to the fact that at the end of the day, consistency and commitment, and not the amount of money spent, make the real difference when it comes to weight loss. When discussing what helps to shed the pounds, a clear majority stated that they relied on physical activity instead of succumbing to the lure of fad diets.

And when it came to the physical activity of choice, running had a clear lead over aerobics, cardio, and others. Of course, there was a gender divide on this matter. While men were all for high-intensity exercises, including hiking, women leaned towards low-intensity options such as aerobics.

When asked about how the weight loss journey was started, some of the youngsters answering Soul Zhang Lu’s survey stated that they jumped right in. But many admitted that they derived motivation from fitness-related purchases and even social media declarations of their weight management goals.

Although the survey made it clear that Gen Z was serious about weight management, an expected finding was that keeping the weight off was harder than taking it off.  Also, Zoomers confessed that it was mentally taxing to stick to fitness goals, and this often led them to abandon their plans.

For example, almost 60% of the survey participants confessed that they could only hold on to their weight loss plans for 3 months before they gave in to stress-related binging or prioritized work and academic commitments over their wellness goals.

While participants reported losing between 10 and 20 kg of weight, most complained that keeping the weight off was the hardest part of the process. In fact, many said that the pounds came back with a vengeance when they slipped. That said, Soul Zhang Lu’s survey also uncovered two unique trends.

Read More: Mental Health Talks: Are Gen Z Breaking the Taboo or Just Romanticizing it?

The first was that an increasing number of youngsters were not only relying on social media but also on AI to help them achieve their weight management goals and stick to their weight loss plans. The second finding was that Gen Z measured success in this regard differently from the older generations.

For these youngsters, even a modest decrease in weight was considered a noteworthy achievement as long as it made them feel good about themselves, more confident, and more comfortable in their own skin. Simply put, success was no longer being measured by what the bathroom scale says.

That said, the findings of Soul Zhang Lu’s study and the participation of 2200 app users show the willingness of youngsters to share deeply personal topics such as weight loss, body image, confidence levels, and health and wellbeing on social networking platforms. The survey also highlights the fact that young users of social networking platforms covet the idea of having a digital ecosystem that offers empathy and reflects the values of its users.

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