China’s Urban Children Taller With Better Food, Survey Shows – Wing-Gar Cheng

From Bloomberg:

Urban children in China, the world’s most populous nation, average as much as 6.4 centimeters (2.5 inches) taller and 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) heavier than 30 years ago because higher incomes have boosted nutrition.

A survey of 138,775 children conducted nationwide last year found six-year-old boys in urban areas had average heights of 118.7 centimeters, compared with 112.3 centimeters in 1975, the Health Ministry(卫生部） said on its Web site yesterday. They weighed an average 21.7 kilograms last year, compared with 18.7 kilograms in 1975, it said.

A four-year investment boom has powered annual economic expansion of 10 percent in China, double the global average. Last year, China surpassed the U.K. as the world’s fourth- largest economy. The nation’s economy expanded 10.7 percent in the first three quarters.
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