Editors Note: This article is a summary of the recently published 2010 nationwide physical fitness study conducted by the government to evaluate changes in the population’s physicality, height, weight and other related PhyEd topics. It is worth noting that this report (as compared to similar reports from Western sources) seems to slightly underplay the effects of fast food and overeating that seem to be “consuming” China, instead opting for a more scientific evaluation of the “decreasing physicality” of the population.

Since 2000, China has conducted a sort of fitness evaluation to study the changes in the country’s physical fitness every five years. The State Sports General Administration, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and 10 other departments organise and run this study in 31 of China’s provinces. Evaluation is done through the use of three primary indicators: body shape, body function and physique. Participants are split up into different groups based on age: young children 3-6 years old, adolescents 7-19 years old, adults 20-59 years old, and senior citizens 60-69 years old. The results for the 2010 iteration of this study were released in early September in Beijing. As compared to 2000 and 2005, in 2010 the overall “passing rate” increased across all of the different age groups, genders and locales.

Results of the 2010 study

The results of the study were broken up into three age-specific groups: adults, senior citizens and children. For the adult group, the results were not kind. Due to a substantial decrease in physical activity at the workplace, as well as an increase in food intake, a heavy workload and other factors, adults’ physique is rapidly deteriorating, leading to a phenomenon of “premature aging”. Worse yet, the overweight and obesity rates for adults have continued to increase since 2000. In 2010, the overweight rate for adults was 32.1% (a 3.0% increase since 2005), and the obesity rate for adults was 9.9% (a 1.9% increase since 2005).

As for the senior citizen group, although the overweight and obesity rates increased slightly in 2010, senior citizens did see some improvement over 2005 results when it came to body functions like lung capacity. Also, flexibility and reaction times improved, but the physical strength targets decreased slightly for both men and women. In general, it seems that exercise is helping keep China’s seniors looking and feeling young.

The 2010 results also show a steady improvement in early childhood development. In particular, all age groups of children showed a significant increase in average height, weight and chest size (compared to the 2000 and 2005 results). The weight increase was the most noticeable, followed by the chest measurement and finally the height measurement.
 
The study also shows that while China is exercise-minded, which is helping overall physiques to keep improving; results also highlight some development problems. First, certain age groups are undergoing fluctuations in their physical fitness proficiency levels. Additionally, China has so far been unable to resolve the declining physical strength trend for middle-aged and senior citizens.

One expert “weighs in” on China’s physical fitness situation

According to Wang Mei, a researcher at the Sports Science Research Institute and the deputy director of the People's Physical Education Research Center, over the past ten years, Chinese people's increasing weight has been nearly the same as Westerners increasing weight over the past 30 years. Prior to the reforms in the 1980s, Chinese people’s weight was "stubbornly" skinny, and commentators in the West said that China did not have any sort of weight problem to speak of. But after the reforms, especially over the last 20 years, the overweight and obesity rates in China have substantially increased. Children, adults and senior citizens groups in China have all seen increases in overweight and obesity rates. Wang Mei notes that obesity and being overweight are both global problems, and in China, they can be attributed to the huge lifestyle changes that have occurred over the last 20-30 years. Where in the past most Chinese walked or rode bicycles to work, now, most Chinese drive to work or ride the bus. Furthermore, when you take into account the additional changes of less physicality at work and increases in food consumption it is not so surprising that overweight and obesity rates are increasing.

Also, as compared to the 2005 study, people aged 20-59 years old are showing decreases in flexibility and physical strength. According to logic, as nutrition becomes more abundant and an “exercise mentality” is continually promoted, these physical fitness targets should have also improved. But, according to Wang Hai, in recent years, the people’s physical education and exercising mentality has focused to a much greater extent on aerobic exercises (used to slim down and lose weight) and not really at all on exercises that will increase physical strength and flexibility. Wang Hai recommends that Chinese people adopt a comprehensive and scientific approach when setting their own goals for exercising. These comprehensive goals should be things such as "losing weight, increasing endurance and improving flexibility".
 

Source: bjrb.bjd.com.cn

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Keywords: obesity and fast food in China physical fitness in China fat Chinese people exercising in China