Dislocated joints due to yawning, broken bones due to going to toilet, why are contemporary college students so "fragile"?

Audit expert: Wu Xinsheng

Deputy Chief Physician of Gastroenterology Recently, the term "crispy college students" has become popular on the Internet. In September 2023 alone, the emergency department of a hospital in Zhengzhou received more than 1,700 young people aged 18 to 25: corpus luteum ruptured while squatting on the toilet, fainted due to excitement, yawned and dislocated, fractured while going to the toilet, fainted and convulsed due to fear, hypoglycemia after eating Haidilao, back sprained when turning around, buttocks hurt after eating turkey noodles...

The "crunchy sharks" were understandable, and the unexpected reasons for their injuries made people laugh. Netizens therefore created hot memes such as "crunchy college students" and "counselors who make sharp noises" to mock the fragile physical condition of college students. Playing with memes is playing with memes, and the title of "crunchy" is both self-deprecating and self-help. The worrying health of contemporary college students is a wake-up call.

Douyin topic screenshot source | Douyin
1

What is the true health status of college students?

According to the survey results in the article "Analysis and Research on the Current Status of Physical Fitness of College Students" by Zhu Xiaomin, a lecturer at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, no more than half of today's college students have a normal weight. Among them, boys have serious problems with obesity and overweight, while girls are mainly underweight . Other data such as lung capacity, endurance, speed, strength, etc. all show a pessimistic trend-the proportion of students with "excellent" grades basically does not exceed 20%. Coincidentally, the 2023 "Analysis and Research on the Current Status of Physical Fitness of College Students" surveyed 2,000 college students, and the results showed that the physical fitness and health of college students are indeed showing a downward trend year by year.

Source of the survey data table | Zhu Xiaomin's paper

In November 2019, China Youth Daily and other institutions jointly conducted a survey on college students' health issues. The survey results showed that skin, sleep, mood, hair loss, and obesity have become the most troubling issues for college students . From the perspective of gender, female college students are more likely to be troubled by skin conditions, hair loss, and other appearance issues than male college students; from the perspective of age, the older the grade, the higher the proportion of skin problems. From the perspective of academic impact, more and more college students are troubled by lack of sleep, and half of the masters and doctoral students are not getting enough sleep.

Source | China Youth Daily Research Report
2

What makes a “fragile” college student?

"The body is the capital of revolution" and "We must make our physique strong", but today's college students have become a hot topic with the label "fragile but hard to kill". The reasons behind this are worth our consideration.

First, college students go through a period of intense study in middle school, where staying up late to study, eating unhealthy foods, and experiencing psychological stress are common, which seriously overdraws their health. The cost of overdrawing health during middle school is fully revealed after entering college , creating batches of "fragile college students" after batches of "fragile college students."

Secondly, after entering the "glamorous world" of college, students have broken away from the regular work and rest schedule and behavior control of high school life, and have become self-indulgent in their living habits . They "stay up late to cultivate immortality" at night and "have unlimited magic power" in the morning. They sleep when they close their eyes and eat when they open them. They never get up after lying down and never leave the dormitory... Netizens' ridicule has exposed the living habits of college students, such as eating more, moving less, and having a "hellish" work and rest schedule. It is these unhealthy living habits that put a heavy burden on students' bodies. If things go on like this, the immunity will decline and the physique will become "fragile".

Source: pixabay

College students have a strong curiosity about everything new and are eager for a more interesting and exciting new life. They are brave enough to try various behaviors that they have never experienced before, but they lack the corresponding life experience . They are reckless and confident like a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger. Therefore, these low-probability events that may only occur once in a lifetime in the eyes of others happen to college students, which is "outrageous, but reasonable."

On the other hand, the study and employment pressure faced by college students of all grades has also created a group of emotionally unstable "fragile college students". A survey report shows that 60% of college students are troubled by academic pressure, the source of pressure for senior students is employment, and half of master's and doctoral students lack sleep.

In addition, college students also lack the necessary health knowledge and first aid knowledge . In 2019, a survey of undergraduates in Sichuan Province conducted by West China Medical School of Sichuan University showed that the accuracy rate of the basic first aid knowledge test was less than 50%. College students who know nothing about health knowledge and first aid are inevitably at a loss when emergencies occur.

Source: pixabay

3

How to save the fragile college students?

The key to treating the symptoms is to develop good living habits. Young college students should always pay attention to and reflect on their living conditions. They can ask themselves, "What harm will it do to my body if I play games until 3 o'clock tonight?" "How much weight will I gain this month if I don't exercise?" Through this conscious self-regulation, they can force themselves to go to bed early and get up early; eat healthy, eat more fruits and vegetables, and eat three meals at regular times and in fixed quantities; exercise actively, reduce sitting for long periods of time, do more outdoor sports, and get rid of the "residual blood" state.

Secondly, college students need to adjust their mental state. Even if they are under great academic pressure, they should not sacrifice their physical health. For those who "skip elective courses and skip compulsory courses", we sincerely suggest that you break down the pressure of the final exam into small pieces, make a little progress every day, and avoid overdrawing your body during the exam month. For students who study hard but still have great psychological pressure, they can choose to relieve their emotions through exercise and listening to music, or seek psychological counseling on and off campus. With the help of professional counselors, they can adjust their emotions to a healthy state.

College students also need to have a certain understanding of health common sense and first aid knowledge to avoid being "accidentally killed" by themselves and only being able to make a sharp explosion. For example, women have relatively fragile tissues such as the corpus luteum in their abdomen, so try not to use your abdomen to close the umbrella; stray animals that have not been vaccinated may contain viruses, so it is best not to tease them to avoid being scratched or bitten; you must have a certain understanding of the hospital's consultation process and the departments corresponding to common diseases...

The education system should also respond promptly to the social event of the popularity of "crispy college students", reduce the academic pressure on middle school students, attach importance to students' physical education, increase opportunities for outdoor sports... Don't let academic studies become a burden and let our college students become synonymous with "crispy".

Cherish life and keep “crispy” people away from college students.