Following numerous reports on the growing obesity among children in China, Beijing Center for Diseases Prevention and Control (BCDPC) has been running trial projects for obesity control in a number of schools since earlier this year.
Now, they have announced that they will be requiring all Beijing teachers, from all sixteen districts, to be responsible for the prevention and control of obesity amongst their students. Details on how the teachers are to accomplish this feat along with the penalties (or bonuses) for the trial were not released.
BCDPC plans to cooperate with school clinics for the trial projects, evaluating the physical examination results of students and issuing warnings to schools with at-risk students.
A recent study published by the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology observed growing obesity rates among rural children in China. The study found an average of 17 percent of Chinese children to be obese, with heavier boys than girls. In the study, obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 28 or higher.
As the study observed a sample from Shandong province, it concluded that the obesity epidemic has hit rural areas harder. The reasoning behind it is that the leftover children cared for by grandparents are often spoiled with food. The growing preference for a more western diet of soft drinks and fast food doesn’t help.
Similarly, the preference for male children with lower expectations for physical appearance could be cause for why there were almost ten percent more obese boys than girls.
Children between the ages of seven and twelve were heaviest, most likely because teenagers are more image conscious.
Recently, China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission has been urging citizens to eat less meat and eggs in an effort to combat obesity and its associated health problems.
Photos: Flickr
