Obesity: China’s Big Problem

It is sunrise at a camp for teenagers in China. One by one, they file out of their dorms, some still rubbing the sleep from their eyes.

As they hurry into formation for morning exercises, former soldiers bark orders at them – jump higher, run faster, squat lower.

For these children, there is just one aim – to lose weight.

“It will be difficult, it will be exhausting, but I really have no choice,” says 15-year-old Dushuai. “I absolutely have to lose weight.”

Back in the 1960s, China suffered a devastating famine that killed nearly 20 million people. But now, the country faces a new scourge: Obesity.

One in five children – and tens of millions of adults – are now overweight or obese.

China’s rapid economic growth has brought huge lifestyle changes – people now consume more Western-style junk food, laden with fat and sugar, and are more sedentary.

Some are beginning to take drastic measures.

For children like Dushai, that means spending his holidays at a camp where his days are filled with rigorous exercise, nutrition classes, and carefully crafted meals.

From boot camps for overweight teens run by former soldiers, to radical weight loss surgery, many across the nation are trying to get in shape.

101 East explores as China battles the bulge.

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