Harmonious Society's Harmonious Exercise

Like the US and much of the West, China is facing a growing - literally - problem with juvenile obesity. China's modern, only children are less active and better-fed than previous generations, and the looming specter of the 高考 "gaokao", the ridiculously intense college selection exam, ties many to their desk studying late into the night, with no time for recreational exercise.

A recent study by the Chinese Youth and Children's Research Center found that Chinese children spend an average of 8.6 hours per day at school, with some spending 12 hours per day in the classroom. After school and on weekends, most students - at all ages, not just those preparing for the gaokao - attend additional tutoring or "cram school" classes, and this does not include extracurricular activities such as music. They have very little time for free play and exercise, and 60% of respondents claimed they didn't even have any playmates.

The Ministry of Education has announced a solution: mandatory dancing. Elementary and secondary school students will be required, during their break periods or extra-curricular times, to practice specific 4-5 minute dances developed by the government specifically for this purpose. There are different dances for different ages, and the whole set of dances will be revised every two years. And of course, the teachers must learn the dances as well.

I wonder, considering the Ministry itself cites excessive homework and a shortage of time as reasons for children's failure to exercise, is forcing them to use their free time to do an activity many won't like really the best way to encourage good habits?