Photo via Qianjiang Evening News

A class of eighth graders in China have received a special school assignment from their class advisor: record their body weight before the vacation; if more than 1 kilogram of body weight is gained over the holiday, expect to be penalized. The strict and unusual requirement has triggered debate among Chinese netizens.

The controversial assignment was conceived by the class adviser, Shen Wei, who said it aims to help students keep fit during the winter vacation, a period when the young students tend to become lazy. “I want them to keep an eye on their health,” Shen said.

Some of the students tried to “cheat” by increasing their weight before vacation by wearing magnets, drinking lots of water, and even holding in urine. Unfortunately, all these tricks failed, as Shen stipulated that the students must go to washroom before weighing, and also take off their coats and shoes and empty their pockets.

“I’m already 5 kilograms heavier than the beginning of this semester!” Wang, a student who weighs 72 kilograms, cried out, who said he has already made plans to lose weight. Meanwhile, his classmate surnamed Chen, said he plans to keep fit in the future. Like Wang and Chen, many of the students plan to do exercise or keep a diet to avoid punishment after the vacation.

However, many netizens think that such information should be kept private and the teacher has no right to know. Likewise, some said that getting fatter is common among teenagers as their bodies need more nutrition to grow taller.

China has been promoting multiple measures to guarantee healthy physical development of its younger generations, including measures to encourage more outdoor activities. In September 2018, the obesity rate of juveniles in China rose to 16%, and is climbing rapidly, according to the National Health Commission. Obesity among teenagers could lead to damaging consequences, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or even a decline in intelligence.