China: Obesity 'explosion' in rural youth
27-Apr-16, BBC
Obesity has rapidly increased in young rural Chinese, a study has warned, because of socioeconomic changes.
Researchers found 17% of boys and 9% of girls under the age of 19 were obese in 2014, up from 1% for each in 1985.
%20AFP_Getty%20Images.jpg "China Obesity explosion in rural youth (c) AFP Getty Images")
Image: AFP / Getty Images
The 29-year study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, involved nearly 28,000 students in Shandong province. The study used a stricter cut-off of the Body Mass Index (BMI) than the World Health Organization standard.
"It is the worst explosion of childhood and adolescent obesity that I have ever seen," Joep Perk from the European Society of Cardiology told AFP news agency.