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July 5, 2008 6:56:13 PM CDT

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China to Mandate Booty-Shaking

Posted Jun 5, 07 1:44 PM CDT in World    Editor's Choice

(Newser) – The childhood obesity epidemic has found its way to China—and will stop there, if the government's new dance requirement has the desired effect. Starting in September, mandatory classes will get millions of schoolchildren off their butts and onto the dance floor. Experts are developing routines for the curriculum, which will gain new moves every two years.

The new measure, which does not replace PE, is provoking mixed reactions, the Guardian reports. Supporters are concerned that one in five Chinese children is obese, and they welcome the opportunity for students to learn social graces. Others worry about things getting too social: "Letting students waltz will create hotbeds of adolescent love," says one Beijing teacher.

Source Guardian (UK)

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Children Celebrate International Children's Day In Beijing   (Getty Images)
June 5, 2007. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Xie Huanchi, File)   (Associated Press)
Chinese children take part in a dragon dance to mark International Children's Day in Beijing, China, Friday, June 1, 2007. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)   (Associated Press)
Folk dancers perform the traditional Chinese dragon dance during the opening ceremony of the Henan Peony Festival in Luoyang, China's central Henan Province, Tuesday, April 10, 2007. The dancers will...   (Associated Press)
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China  • health  • children  • obesity  • childhood obesity  • dance


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