Raising the bar of children's physical and mental health

A series of health education video courses have been released by the Ministry of Education, along with a set of standards for the evaluation of the physical activity of children by the National Health Commission.

The "National School Health Education Video Curriculum" was developed by East China Normal University together with more than 200 experts and educators nationwide. It covers all students from primary schools to universities.

It aims to solve problems with health education in schools, such as insufficient teachers and class hours, as well as uneven teaching quality. It targets improving the quality and effectiveness of school health education nationwide through the use of video resources.

The videos cover a wide range of topics, including health knowledge, physical exercise, and mental health, with the aim of helping students gain a comprehensive understanding and mastery of health knowledge, and cultivate a healthy lifestyle.

The full set of video courses totals 80 hours, including 54 hours for grades 1–9 of compulsory education, 18 hours for grades 10–12 of high school, and eight hours for university, according to Ji Liu, chief planner of the national health education video course and chairman of the National High School Health Education Teaching Steering Committee.

At each school level, the courses covers various topics: healthy behavior and lifestyle, growth and development, adolescent health, mental health, disease prevention and response to public health emergencies, safety emergencies, and risk avoidance.

The development of "Evaluation of Physical Activity Levels of Children and Adolescents Aged 7-18" was also led by East China Normal University.

This evaluation guideline has increased the original requirement of at least 60 minutes of aerobic exercise to 70 minutes a day for children and adolescents, and emphasized that adolescents should spend no more than two hours a day on digital screens.

This activity guide also recommends that adolescents perform gym-heavy equipment workouts that build muscle strength and strength-training and aerobic exercise that promotes bone health at least three times per week.

Experts said this is important to promote the healthy growth of young people. In recent years children and adolescents have had insufficient physical activity, increased screen exposure, rising obesity rates and declining physiques.

The guide will soon be promoted in primary and secondary schools to help assess the physical activity level of children and adolescents. This will provide a scientific basis for the relevant authorities to formulate health policies and education programs.