Unhealthy eating habits have led to widening
waistbands in Shanghai. [Photo: dfdaily.com]
The Municipal Health Bureau and Sports Bureau and the Education
Commission of Shanghai have jointly launched a program aimed at
slimming down obese students.
The local newspaper Oriental Morning Post reported on
Tuesday that the program will issue plans for balanced school meals
and restrict campus stores from selling junk food, as well as
involving the students in physical exercise.
The overweight student population has been on the rise lately in
Shanghai. According to the latest health survey, 11.5 percent of
the city's students between the ages of seven and twenty-two are
now overweight.
Obesity can trigger various mental and physical diseases, the
report quoted a medical expert as saying.
The program will also initiate lectures on healthy diets and
lifestyles for teachers and parents, and will offer personal
consultations for students whose weights are severely above what is
considered healthy.
The program is expected to reduce the number of overweight
students by five to 10 percent within two years, and should boost
their comprehensive physical fitness by about 10 percent.
(CRIENGLISH.com January 30, 2008)
