Hong Kong Kids Falling Short on Fitness
A new study has revealed a worrying trend among schoolchildren in Hong Kong: a significant lack of physical activity.
Professor Patrick Ip, a pediatrician at the University of Hong Kong, led the research for the InspiringHK Sports Foundation. His findings, based on over 1,000 primary and secondary students, paint a rather bleak picture.
"Less than eight percent of the students we studied met the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day over the past year," Ip reported.
He attributes this alarming drop in physical activity to habits formed during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We have observed… during non-school days and public holidays, children actually did not go out with their friends, their family members to play sports or do any activities under the sunshine,” he said.
Ip voiced concern that this trend could have long-lasting consequences. “This turns out to be a very bad habit. If that habit continues, our next generation will be at a much worse physical activity level, as well as having a poor shape in both physical and mental health.”
The InspiringHK Sports Foundation isn’t standing idly by. It’s set an ambitious goal: to increase the percentage of Hong Kong schoolchildren meeting the daily exercise recommendation to 16 percent by 2030. They plan to launch a new initiative next year aimed at promoting physical activity among students.
The study’s findings raise important questions about the global impact of the pandemic on children’s health and well-being. With a growing emphasis on screen time and sedentary activities in many societies, initiatives like the ones being undertaken by the InspiringHK Sports Foundation are crucial in encouraging a generation to move more and live healthier lives.
