According to the camp commandant the number of overweight children in Beijing has increased threefold in 15 years. Keeping China’s youth slim is now serious business: kids' fitness here means the difference between a good school and a lousy school. For the children who fail the test, it means disappointment and humiliation for the family. Sitting at the top of a mountain after a vigorous camp hike, the camp's inmates are smug. “I think my belly is flatter than before…I feel excellent!” His classmate though has mysteriously disappeared. 15 year old Ou Yang did not make it: “I felt tired so I er…went down.”

Produced by ABC Australia