Health promotion in Hong Kong - Essay Example

ealth Service of the Department of Health (DH), the obesity rate among primary school students increased from 16.4% in 1997-98 to 21.3% in 2007-08. Recent study states that 20.3% of the boys and 10.1% of the girls are overweight at 10 years of age and about half of this figure is noticed among the 15-year-old (10.3% boys, 6.3% girls). To encourage healthy eating habit, DH has made arrangements so that public awareness with regard to the vitality of healthy eating can be increased. Obesity is now a global problem.

There is now consensus on the negative impact of obesity on physical, mental and social functions in children (Swallen KC, et all, 2004 and Reilly JJ, Wilson D, 2006). What is more, majority of the obese children stay obese in their adulthood also (Vanhala M, 1998), resulting in potential augmented hazard of adult mortality and morbidity (Rudolf MC, 2001), (Burke V, 2005) and (Karnehed N, et al, 2007). Community need appraisal was conducted before the project was instituted. Clear pictures of health issue, identification of the problems and directions for intervention were undertaken.

Obesity is the foremost public health scourge worldwide in children and adults [(Flegal KM, et all, 2002), (Hedley AA, et all, 2002), (Ogden CL et al, 2002), (Sharma M, 2007)]. The occurrence and brutality of childhood obesity is considerably raising with a consequent augment in the frequency of obesity-related unwholesomeness especially those linking to obstructive sleep apnea and metabolic and cardiovascular sequelae (Tauman R, Gozal D, 2006). Avoidance of childhood obesity is a critical concern for public health in several industrialized countries and some changeover societies.

Nutrition and physical activity (PA) has been the most vital study focused on obesity prevention. But the issued findings of such treatments recommended little achievement in keeping away childhood obesity (Nestle M, Jacobson & MF. Halting, 2000). Some studies also focused on dietary or/and PA