structural:summarization, quality:corruption
Child boxers

In 2016, 9,998 children under the age of 15 were registered with Board of Boxing under the Sport Authority of Thailand, according to the Child Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Centre (CSIP). Some estimates put the number of child boxers nationwide at between 200,000 and 300,000, some as young as four years old.

The Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Centre (AIMC) at Ramathibodi Hospital studied 300 child boxers aged under 15 with two to more than five years of experience, as well as 200 children who do not box. The findings show that child boxers not only sustain brain injuries, they also have a lower IQ, about 10 points lower than average levels. Moreover, IQ levels correlate with the length of their training. Beyond brain damage, the death of young fighters in the ring sometimes occurs.

Adisak Plitapolkarnpim, director of CSIP, was indirectly quoted (in 2016) as having said that muay Thai practitioners "younger than 15 years old are being urged to avoid 'head contact' to reduce the risk of brain injuries, while children aged under nine should be banned from the combat fight"; furthermore, the Boxing Act's minimum age to compete professionally was largely being flouted; furthermore, quoted indirectly, "Boxers aged between 13 and 15" should still be permitted to compete, but "with light contact to the head and face". He said that "spectators and a change in the boxing rules can play a vital role in preventing child boxers from suffering brain injuries, abnormality in brain structure, Parkinson's disease and early-onset Alzheimer's later in life...Children aged between nine and 15 can take part in boxing, but direct head contact must not be allowed". Referring to Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labour as published by the US Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs, he said, "We know Muay Thai paid fighters have been exploited in the past like child labourers and the matter still remains a serious concern."

At the 13th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion in 2018, it was revealed that up to three percent of the upcoming generation will grow up with learning disabilities unless an amendment is ratified that bans children under 12 from participating in boxing matches. International pediatricians have called on lawmakers in Thailand to help.