We see the same issue all over the world...

When we talk about obesity problems and rapid rises the number of obese people in the world normally we are focusing on the United Kingdom which has a serious problem and also the United States of America which has the world’s largest obesity problem. However these two countries are not alone in the world, and poorer countries such as China are also experiencing great problems with the weight of their citizens.

For example Shanghai which is the biggest city in China is also experiencing a big problem with childhood obesity and the medical authorities are beginning to get concerned. For example a recent survey reported that fifteen percent of boys and nine percent of girls of schooling age are obese in Shanghai and this is worrying as the national statistics show that only eleven percent of boys and five percent of girls are obese.

We see the same issue all over the world, which is that in big cities the problem of people being overweight is much greater. This is especially true of countries where rapid changes in lifestyles have forced a modern fast food, western diet on people who are not used to it. The medical authorities in Shanghai also noted that children are becoming more unhealthy and are turning up in doctors’ clinics and in hospitals more often and the reason for this they say is partly due to the rising incidence of obesity.

The Chinese authorities also said that the amount of school children who are suffering from bad eyesight which has been shown to be linked to obesity has risen and as a result the education authorities of Shanghai are planning to put at least one hour of physical exercise every day into the school curriculum. The education authorities also said that they would also be encouraging children to get more sleep, as lack of sleep has been known to release hormones that make people need too much.