SHANGHAI: Many cities across the country face the problem, but nowhere it is as grave as in Shanghai.

The city has 15.1 and 9.2 percent obese boys and girls, 3.71 and 4.19 percentage points higher that the national average.

And obesity is the biggest cause of the school-going children's deteriorating health and slack motor reflexes and strength. It is affecting their eyesight, too.

A recent survey on school students and health showed that 42.5 percent of Shanghai's primary school pupils, and 73.9 and 81.1 percent of those in junior-middle and senior-middle schools had poor eyesight, the worst record in the country.

Children in the latest group performed poorly in exercises to evaluate their motor reflexes and skills, measured by strength and endurance, compared to the 2000 batch. The exercises they were asked to perform included push-ups, spot long jumps and 800-meter runs.

To overcome the problem, the city's education authority will make it mandatory for school's to have a one-hour physical exercise class each day. So from the next semester, kids will have three physical education (PE) and two activity classes a week.

The children will have to attend group gymnastics classes at least once a week and eye exercises no less than twice a day.

The authority will ensure that PE review is included in the overall assessment of high school graduates from this year. And from next year, the authority said, it will be made an integral part of graduates' performance in the national college entrance examination.

Primary school kids will be encouraged to sleep at least 10 hours a day and their high school counterparts at least 9 hours to ensure that they get enough sleep.

Shanghai only mirrors the widespread decline in kids' health across the nation. In many schools, PE classes are cut short or even canceled because they are considered a waste of time. For many teachers and parents, academic records are all that really matter.

Even schools that still have PE classes have replaced traditional exercises such as box jumping and single and parallel bars with "safer" activities.

(China Daily 01/30/2007 page4)