exceeded fitness targets and created new strategies to maintain students' obesity levels. Schools that failed had to face "consultation" sessions with ministry officials. Schools were also ranked annually based on how well targets were met at national level. Schools were given a wide discretion in determining how TAF was to be implemented, which resulted in some schools going so far as to implement apartheid-like segregation – for instance, where children were grouped to sit at normal and overweight tables during recess. Psychological factors Psychological motivation and peer pressure was emphasised in implementation of the programme, which formed the bulk of criticism of the programme as being insensitive and heavy-handed. Several TAF participants reported experiences of stigmatization, teasing, physiological stress and lower self-esteem as they found themselves being singled out for being obese. It was also quickly pointed out that the name of the programme contained a negative connotation, as its reverse acronym was 'FAT'. Despite such criticism, education officials continually insisted that the programme was not out to stigmatise overweight children. In 2005, a National University of Singapore study of 4,400 schoolgirls linked TAF to an increase in eating disorders. It found that girls were more likely to have poorer relationship with their parents and their female friends. The findings correlated to a Singapore General Hospital study released a week earlier which found that instances of anorexia nervosa and bulimia increased six-fold from 1994 to 2002. The Ministry of Education quickly rejected these findings; claiming TAF was not a factor in the increase in anorexia. Two years later, in 2007, the Ministry of Education decided to replace TAF with the Holistic Health Framework (HHF). The HHF intended to ensure the fitness and health of all schoolchildren. References External links MOE website on TAF Education in Singapore Health in Singapore Obesity