Chinese university launches weight-loss course where obese students are given credit for shedding pounds

A university in eastern China has launched a weigh-loss course where students are awarded marks for taking walks in the park and eating vegetables.

The course, which is available only to those with a body mass index higher than 28, was introduced by the the Nanjing Agricultural University to tackle a growing obesity crisis in China’s youth.

Sixty per cent of students' grades will be determined by how much weight they lose. If they lose seven per cent of their starting weight they automatically get a perfect score.

Fifty students have enrolled in the year-long course where they are encouraged to lose weight through a combination of regular exercise and diet control, The Times has reported..

The university trialled weight-loss classes after finding that its students are getting heavier, with nearly 13 per cent of those in first and second year overweight.

The trial was successful, and physical education instructor Zhou Quanfu was allowed to introduce the course into the curriculum.

Nearly all of the students who applied for a place were enrolled after having their height, weight, heart rate, blood pressure and lung capacity measured, according to Jiangsu Television in eastern China.

One student said, who weighs 18st 11lbs, said: “I would never pass tests in a normal physical education class. I’d like to go on a diet.” His aim is to lose 1st 8lb.

Students in Mr Zhou’s class will jog on treadmills every day and complete outdoor assignments such as step climbing, trail running and walks in local parks.

They have to log everything they eat and record the calories they consume, uploading photographs of their meals to a messaging service where they will be given diet advice from two nutritionists.

The fitness course is the latest response from schools and colleges to concerns that the lack of general fitness among China’s youth is becoming a generational problem.

Politicians are worried that the country will lack strong, able bodies to join the armed forces.

Peking University’s School of Public Health predicts that 28 per cent of children in China aged between seven and 18 – or almost 50 million children – will be classified as obese or overweight by 2030.