The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the
State Council, China's cabinet, issued a circular on Thursday
urging more efforts to develop physical education and build up the
health of youngsters.
The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games should be an
opportunity to push forward physical education among Chinese youth
and improve their health, says the circular.
The circular says that the health of Chinese students is
deteriorating because of their heavy study burden and lack of sleep
and physical exercise.
Recent reports show that the incidence of shortsightedness and
obesity is high in urban areas while malnutrition is serious in the
rural areas.
"If the problems cannot be effectively solved, the health of
Chinese youngsters will be seriously affected, and the future of
China and Chinese people will be affected," says the circular.
The circular urges measures be taken to improve the health of
young people over the next five years.
It requires China's primary and middle schools to ensure
students receive one-hour of physical exercise every day. Two
sports days, one in spring and the other in autumn, should be held
in each school every year.
Senior middle schools and universities should improve military
training for the students. And physical performance examination
should be given greater importance for entrance requirements for
senior middle schools and universities, the circular says.
It also urges to ensure 10 hours of sleep every day for
primary school students, nine hours for junior middle school
students and eight hours for senior middle school students.
A new report by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and
Prevention shows that the rate of malnutrition among Chinese
children has dropped as family incomes have increased, but children
aren't much healthier.
The proportion of overweight children is 2.6 times higher in
families with a monthly income of over 10,000 yuan (nearly
US$1,300) than in families with a monthly income of less than 800
yuan (about US$104).
It is also reported that children whose parents earn
comparatively high salaries spend more hours in the classroom,
watching TV and playing computer games, but do not get enough
sleep. More than 73 percent of children from the richest families
lack sleep. Urban children sleep less than rural children.
(Xinhua News Agency May 25, 2007)