Tokyo, Dec. 26 (ANI): Children in Fukushima are getting fatter as outdoor activities have been cut in the area due to radiation fears after last year's nuclear disaster, according to a Japanese government report.
The education ministry said it had surveyed the heights and weights of about 7,00,000 children, aged between five and 17, at schools and kindergartens across the country this year. It compared the number of obese children, defined as weighing at least 20 percent more than the average for their age and height, among the 47 prefectures, reports News24.
Fukushima registered the highest rates in seven of the 13 age groups, the ministry said. In 2010, the prefecture on the north of the main island Honshu topped the table only in the 10th year of school.
In Fukushima, 56 percent of public schools curbed outdoor activities during school time as of June last year due to radiation concerns. Such restrictions remained in place at 71 elementary and junior high schools as of September this year.
In the accident of March last year, an earthquake-triggered tsunami smashed into the Fukushima nuclear plant, sparking meltdowns and explosions. (ANI)
