The people of the SAR consume more snacks than anywhere else in the region, according to a survey.
Half of the Hong Kong respondents preferred to dine on snacks throughout the day instead of taking a proper meal, according to the survey, by public relations agency Ogilvy and Mather, which interviewed 6,000 people from 21 cities in 14 countries.
The runner-up was Vietnam at 46 per cent, followed by South Korea at 40 per cent, and then Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Taiwan. The Japanese, at only two per cent, ate the fewest snacks.
The survey did not set specific questions on what kinds of snacks were most favoured, according to the agency's planner director David Elsworth.
But senior account planner Sandy Ng Wing-yan said that during the course of discussions it was found that most SAR respondents favoured ice cream and cakes as well as canned drinks. These had become a must for many Hong Kong people, Ms Ng said. Mr Elsworth said lack of time was cited by Hong Kong people for eating so many snacks.
Professor David Tsang Sau-cheuk, director of the food and nutritional science course at Chinese University, expressed concern at the findings, warning that if education continued to neglect the promotion of balanced diets, public health would be at risk.
He said the problem of excessive snack eating should be addressed at a young age, while schools and parents should join hands to help children kick bad eating habits.