Ministry bid to give rural children better food
Print Edition
WHILE many parents in cities worry about their children’s growing girth, the government is taking steps to address the opposite: malnourished children in the countryside.
The Ministry of Finance said yesterday it had allocated another 16.2 billion yuan (US$2.63 billion) to support a national plan to improve nutrition for rural students this year.
The state subsidies to primary and middle school students, 3.2 percent more than a year ago, will go to schools in 699 impoverished counties in 22 provincial-level areas, mainly in central and western China, according to the ministry.
About 32.29 million rural students have benefited from the 46.23 billion yuan in subsidies the central government has allocated since 2011, when the central government launched the nutrition improvement program.
Under the program, each student will receive 3 yuan per day for more nutritious meals.
The program highlights the wealth gap between China’s rural areas and cities, where childhood obesity is a growing problem.
About 12 percent of children aged 7 to 18 in China are overweight or obese, according to a survey by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association in 2012.
The obesity problem is more acute in cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, where people are paid more, eat richer foods and lead more sedentary lifestyles.
“China is facing dual challenges in malnutrition and obesity among children,” said Hu Xiaoqi, a nutritionist with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “This is an arduous task for people like us working on students’ nutrition.”
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