How to get Hong Kong children eating healthily and off junk food – six expert tips on developing good habits before their teens
Doctors warn that Hong Kong teenagers are at growing risk of suffering strokes later in life after a recent survey showed worrying diet trends. We talk to two dietitians about the best ways of instilling good eating habits at an early age
Encouraging children to adopt good eating habits and healthy attitudes to food early in life is crucial for their future well-being. This is especially so given doctors’ warnings that Hong Kong teenagers are at growing risk of suffering strokes later in life after a recent survey showed a “worrying” trend of youngsters rarely exercising and eating a poor diet.
The Hong Kong Stroke Fund survey of 12,405 secondary school pupils in September and October showed 56 per cent eat diets in which vegetables formed less than a third of their intake. Meanwhile, 4 per cent ate no fresh vegetables at all and 28 cent did not have a daily fruit habit – despite World Health Organisation guidelines that suggest individuals should eat five servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
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A sobering comment from one of the doctors involved in the study was that the youngest stroke patient he had treated was just 18.
“The diet of the young today tends towards the unhealthy, loaded with calories, fats, sugars and salt in general,” says accredited dietitian Danica Yau, who is also the Hong Kong Dietitians Association external affairs officer. “Local surveys have shown students regularly consume soft drinks, fast food and junk food.”
But Yau also warns of a paradox: “On the other end of the spectrum, there is a certain group that places too much focus on body image and goes to the extreme of dieting with all kinds of fad diets, which puts their nutritional status and health at risk.”
