Health guidebook for Beijing's obese students

A health guidebook for students will be extended to middle and primary schools across the Capital by April.

Deputy Director of Beijing municipal health bureau Du Hong said the 20 page booklet aims to give students practical health guidance and the middle school version includes adolescent health care and mental health knowledge.

As the standard of life develops and the differences between urban and rural areas reduce, the proportion of obesity and students with sight issues has grown.

The 2012 national physical fitness report shows that within ten years, the adolescent obesity rate has almost increased 50 percent and the number of overweight obese children has reached 12 million, one thirteenth of world obese children. Some 80 percent of children will remain obese as they grow older which makes the age of chronic disease advance 10-20 years.

A physical fitness report released by the Beijing government shows that from 2010 to 2011, the rate of poor vision reached 62.99 percent while the age of people wearing glasses also decreased.