The eyesight of young students in Beijing gets worse as their
school careers advance according to a recent survey, which shows
that 86 percent of students in colleges and 31 percent in primary
schools have poor eyesight.
Tong Zhiyan, an official with the Beijing sports administration,
said the city's rate of young with poor eyesight and who are
overweight continues to grow and is the worst in the country.
Tong said governments and schools should take measures to curb
the deterioration of eyesight and the weight of students.
A total of 32,879 people between the ages of three and 69 were
surveyed in 2005. The 2005 survey found 22.1 percent of Beijingers
were "very" physically fit, up 4.2 percentage points from 2000, and
27.2 percent were classified as "good," a drop of 0.3 percentage
points since 2000.
A nationwide survey on student health conducted by the Ministry
of Education in 2004 found that 80 percent of Chinese college
students suffered from poor eyesight and that the older the
students, the poorer their sight.
(Xinhua News Agency November 27, 2006)