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Nearly half of primary and middle school students in Guangdong province are underweight, due mainly to stress from studying and a poor diet.

A Guangdong education department analysis of more than 8 million students found just 30 percent of all students were within a healthy weight range last year.

It found 48 percent of students are underweight, 12 percent do not have adequate nutrition, 4.4 percent are overweight and 5 percent are obese.

Li Xueming, vice-director of the Guangdong education department, said many students are underweight because they lack adequate rest due to heavy pressure from study.

He also said many parents do not provide a balanced and healthy diet for their children.

Primary school students need 10 hours of sleep a night and high school students need eight, Li said.

More than 8 million students from 2,309 middle schools and 6,236 primary schools were reviewed after the province adopted the National Student Physical Health Standard last year.

Most schools in the country were required by the Ministry of Education to adopt the standard in 2007.

The standard is based on a combination of factors like height, weight, sex, age and performance on sports tests such as running, jumping, push ups, football and basketball.

All schools are required to keep regularly updated files on students, which could be a factor in deciding if a student is qualified to graduate or be promoted to the next grade.

From the fall semester this year, schools will notify parents of their child's physical health by e-mails and text message.

（英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Siberian-born Kristina Koveshnikova is a freelance journalist from New Zealand who has worked in print, television and film. After completing a BCS degree majoring in journalism, she won an Asia NZ Foundation/Pacific Media Centre award to work for China Daily website. Kristina previously did internships at ABC 7 News in Washington DC and TVNZ in New Zealand and has written for a number of publications, including The New Zealand Herald and East & Bays Courier.