When Song Jingxia, an English teacher at Beijing Guangqumen Middle School, learned during the National People's Congress that an average Japanese teenager is more physically fit than a Chinese teen, she wasn't surprised.

"Emotionally, it's hard to accept, but I believe it is the reality. Chinese students are getting much less physical activity than children in Japan," Song said on Tuesday after a news conference announcing the results of the 2013 Beijing students physical fitness survey.

The survey shows a decline in the overall health and fitness of Chinese teenagers and demonstrates the need for more effective measures to help students develop healthy lifestyles, educators and legislators said.