ABSTRACT

During the past couple of decades, China has experienced rapid socio-economic and nutritional transitions [1-4]. Along with these life style changes, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Chinese children has more than tripled, from 1.7% in 1982 to 5.3% in 2002 for 7-12 years of age [5]. The dramatic rise of overweight among children has led policy makers to rank it as a critical public health threat for several reasons. Firstly, childhood obesity are more likely to persist into adulthood [6,7]. Secondly, obesity in adults is one of the main risk factors for some chronic diseases [8]. Finally, the obesity epidemic greatly affects the social economic de-

velopment. The indirect effects of obesity and obesity-related dietary and physical activity patterns reached 3.4% of gross national product (GNP) in 2000 and was projected to reach 8.7% in 2025 [9].