To stave off obesity, let's dance Tue Jun 5, 12:05 AM ET Dance classes soon will be mandatory for Chinese elementary and secondary students because of worries about increased obesity, state media reported Tuesday. The China Daily said in a front-page story that the dance classes — "to suit the physical and psychological characteristics of students at all ages" — will become compulsory from Sept. 1, quoting a notice from the Education Ministry. It said the dances will be performed during class breaks or during extracurricular time. The newspaper cited recent reports that said heavy loads of schoolwork had cut into the amount of physical activity student perform and that "obesity has been on the rise." Last month, the official Xinhua New Agency reported that besides good grades students also could have to prove their physical fitness to earn a place in a Chinese university under a ministry proposal. Xinhua said the ministry was considering recording the results of physical tests in students' academic files, and could use them as a way to split university applicants who have the same score on written tests. Competition for spots at China's top universities is grueling.