Getting children to exercise

A new health development program aims to help youngsters increase their physical fitness, Xing Wen reports.

Nowadays, Chinese children's lack of physical activity and their early exposure to such electronic products as smartphones and tablets are causing health problems like obesity and myopia.

Nearly 37 percent of students in the fourth year of primary school have myopia, and the proportion of obese boys was 8.5 percent and girls 5.1 percent in the same grade last year, according to the latest report on the quality of compulsory education from the Ministry of Education.

To find a way for Chinese children to get moving, give up a sedentary lifestyle and become healthier, a forum organized by the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation was held recently, which brought together experts, coaches and teachers to discuss ways to improve the quality of physical education in the country.

Zhao Huanbin, a professor from Hebei Normal University, says as currently the typical family structure in China involves four grandparents, two parents and one child (with the second-child policy introduced only in 2016), families can easily become overprotective of their children.

"The adults pick up and hold the children too often during infancy - that's why we found from our survey that many Chinese children have health problems related to their spine," says Zhao.

"And as they grow up, their parents tend to focus more on their academic performance instead of encouraging them to do more physical exercise."

He points out that it's crucial to help raise parental awareness about the importance of improving the posture of children, especially those aged between 3 to 6.