Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Malnutrition rate down, but obesity on rise
People in developed countries are getting more overweight and obese regardless of age. According to WHO, overweight is a Body mass index, BMI, greater than or equal to 25, and obesity is a BMI greater than or equal to 30 for adults. For children aged between 5-19 years, overweight is BMI-for-age greater than 1 standard deviation above the median, and obesity is greater than 2. For example, for a 12-year-old boy, the figures are about 20 and 24 respectively. In the last four decades until 2016, the number of overweight and obese children aged 5-19 rose to 18% from 4%. More food and less exercise are to blame. China is no exception. While the malnutrition rate among children dropped significantly, the rate of overweight and obese grew rapidly as urbanization and digitalization continued. In fact, the child obesity rate rose from 15.5% in 2000 to 24.2% in 2019 in China. Also, the percentage of primary and secondary school students with poor eyesight went up to over 67% in 2019 from 57% in 2010. Nowadays, children in urban cities are spending much more time gazing at their smartphones than doing exercises or playing with their friends. That’s why the Chinese government recently restricted the time for gaming and homework to have children engage in healthier activities. What about metaverse activities with a VR headset?
Enjoy reading the article and learning about the challenge of becoming wealthy and healthy at the same time.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202112/20/WS61bfbcc9a310cdd39bc7c475.html
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