According to a national report, children in China are healthier than ever before. All of the children who particpated in the survey -- all under seven years old -- passed the WHO growth standards in both height and weight. And, on average, they are much taller, and heavier than before.

For example, the surveyed group of 5-year-old boys measure 8 centimeters taller than in 1975. They are also more than 3.5 kilograms heavier than 40 years ago.  But there's a little more behind these numbers: children in rural areas remain shorter and lighter than those in the city. And cases of malnutrition are still found. Indeed the growth retardation rate comes close to 20 percent in some poverty-stricken areas.

Conversely, obesity is a major problem for urban children, as certain cities have found that ten percent of them are overweight.